Monday, July 30, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
HIGH TIDE, LOW TIDE
Post-Season Perigee And Proxigee: Cannons Win 4-3, Lose 10-1 Versus Marlins
Glastonbury, CT (AP)—Tides: the cyclical rising and falling of the Earth’s ocean surface caused by the gravitational or “tractive” forces of the Moon and Sun. Water’s wanderings are most pronounced along coastlines of the world’s oceans, gulfs and bays where tidal ranges—the differences in height between low and high tide—are increased by factors from topography to meteorology, as Joe “Doppler” Furey fans are well aware. From ancient times, tides have been observed and understood with expanding sophistication, first noting the daily recurrence, then their relationship to heavenly bodies—no Cannon Nation, not Leo Dionicio, Jason Maule or John Mancini…especially below the Mancer’s belt!—and knowledge of this daily ebb and flow has become increasingly vital for many of man’s functions, including navigation, fishing and construction of coastal facilities. This natural procession and recession in many ways mirrors the A Division play of the Connecticut Cannons, though this team—the pick of many prognosticators and pundits to win the 2007 CNMSBL Championship—is famously more frustrating to forecast. The Cannons have at times during their two years in the A Division looked like the proverbial big fish in a little pond with successes from series sweeps to powerful playoff performances. In other instances the team has struggled to keep its head above water, languishing in lengthy losing streaks and eight times dropping games by a single run. A gain here, a setback there. Sunday on the road against the Glastonbury Marlins (6-8) was yet another example of the dichotomy that has often defined Connecticut Cannons baseball: a well-played 4-3 win that saw the team play as anticipated in all aspects of the game followed by a 10-1 loss that was the antithesis of the Game One victory. Like baseball’s version of the Beach Boys, the Cannons hope to “catch a wave and they’ll be sitting on top of the world” when the ’07 post-season comes to a close in August. The attraction or, if you will, gravitational pull of this is most alluring to Cannons fans from the Connecticut coast to the capital region.
Old man of the “C,” Mike Patenaude, made the start in the opener after his wondrous, woebegone two hundred two-pitch two-loss outing against first-place Bristol one week ago. The Cannons were able to score a first-inning run against lightning-armed left-hander Kei Hamada courtesy of a Maule walk and stolen base (an overthrow advanced him to third) and a Mike Calabrese sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead. This marked the seventh time that Maule has tallied a first frame run for the Cannons in his fourteen games played this season. The Marlins responded immediately, plating a pair of runs against Patenaude in the home half of the first as he surrendered consecutive hits to Wally Joyner, San Diego State star and former Florida farmhand B. F. Skinner and Ray Allen before getting Chris "Bugsy" Moran on a fly out and Mickey Bantle on a swinging strike out. The Cannons were kept quiet until the sixth when Matt Celio led off with a walk, John Mancini singled sharply to left-centerfield in his first game action in nearly a month following a thirty minute cage session to Baseball City on Saturday and Calabrese lined a ball to left to load the bases. With one out, Cannons Rookie of the Year candidate Drew McDowell smashed a 2-2 pitch deep to an unfortunately fenceless left field that cleared the bases giving the Cannons a 4-2 advantage. Patenaude (7 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 7 H, 5 K, 3 BB) battled the “Asian Assassin” pitch for pitch over the course of the contest allowing just three walks and two hits between the second and sixth innings. In the seventh, Patenaude faced pinch hitter Shawn Barry who hit a rocket right back to the box that the southpaw snagged for the first out of the frame. A single by Beavis Cornholio and an error put the tying run on with just one down but a ground ball to the hole at short allowed an alert and athletic Calabrese’s to cut down the lead runner at third for the second out of the inning. Skinner singled home a run and stole second putting the tying and winning runs just ninety and one hundred eighty feet respectively from home with the clean-up hitter Allen approaching the plate (his two RBI in the first accounted for the Fish’s earlier scoring). Refusing to fold in the face of adversity, Patenaude (2-5) pounded the strike zone with an awesome array of pitches and three swings later the lefty had logged a strike out and his second victory of the season, the Cannons fourth overall matching the team’s 2006 total. Following his winning one hundred eight-pitch performance, Patenaude stated in his post-game press conference: “We showed what kind of team we can be when we play solid defense and come up with some clutch hits. We got great contributions from everybody out there today and that is what has made us successful in the past and will be the key to our immediate future. It hasn’t necessarily shown in the wins column but we are playing with a high level of consistency and confidence that has been the trademark of Cannons Baseball, especially at this time of year. I’m excited about our prospects in the upcoming playoffs. I know I wouldn’t want to face us in an elimination game.”
After the “old man” the Cannons went to Mike “C”alabrese following a lay-off of over two months between starts (May 20 at Marlborough; he relieved Steve Markie on June 3 against Winsted). Not surprisingly, Cal was a bit rusty in the early going as the Marlins built an 8-0 cushion after the first two frames on seven hits, a walk and an error. At the same time Calabrese’s opposite number Skinner was in total command of the Cannons’ batters, facing just one more than the minimum through the first four frames (hitting Mark “Keyser Soze” Lynch with a pitch to lead off the second). Calabrese (6 IP, 10 R, 8 ER, 11 H, 1 K, 3 BB) settled down against a hard-hitting Glastonbury ball club and resembled the 2005 Patenaude Award winner that Connecticut will rely heavily upon if they hope to make a deep run into August. In the top of the fifth, Lynch worked a walk—his third free pass of the day including the HBP—but was erased on a Mike “Big Papio” McGann fielder’s choice. Skinner proceeded to punch out Patenaude and Perrier but in both instances the ball got by the catcher Joyner and the Cannons loaded the bases with two outs. Celio stepped to the plate and hit a hard ground ball up the middle that ricocheted off of the Marlins’ ace breaking up the no-hit bid and bringing home McGann with the first and only Cannons’ run (Calabrese singled in the sixth, his third hit in three games, representing the only other hit against Skinner; Mike Weber and Patenaude singled off of reliever Paul “Bread” Cubeta). Cal (0-3) was touched for single runs in the sixth and seventh but was able to hold the Fish from getting a ten-run lead, keeping the Game Two loss at Marlborough as the last time the team was a victim of the mercy rule. “I told the guys it was going to be Roman Candle City out there early,” quipped Calabrese inside the visitors’ locker room, referencing the trajectory of the towering shots hit by the Marlins. “I wasn’t at my best and we faced a power pitcher who was on his game. I feel great and I’m encouraged that I was able to throw a lot of pitches (one hundred ten, slightly more than management’s expected one hundred pitch count) and that Lynchie and I were able to get back on the same page relatively quickly. I just want to contribute and I know the team is going to need me down the stretch and in the post-season. There is a bunch of baseball to be played and I’m really excited to do my part to bring a second Championship to Cannon Nation. Cutter Nation is back, baby!” Weber added: “We looked at this as a rehab start for Cal. He showed some signs of his old self, especially after the early going, and he understands how important he will be if we are going to rediscover our winning ways in the playoffs. With Patenaude, Calabrese and [Tom] Luby we have three pitchers that can do different things out there. That change of pace could be just the thing to make us a tough out in the tournament.”
Tides: local mismatches at the Earth’s surface create a horizontal force directed towards the surface points closest to and farthest from the Moon and Sun (otherwise known as lunar and solar tide-generating forces) and these forces create the high and low tides experienced around the planet each day. Whenever the Sun, Earth and Moon are perfectly aligned, the gravitational pull is at its greatest causing maximum tides. Local mismatches and perfect alignments. These are things that the Connecticut Cannons look to experience and exploit as the regular-season comes to a close and the post-season gets underway. On Sunday the Marlborough A’s (8-8; tied for 4th place) travel to New Cannon Yards for the final home games of the year. With hitting, fielding and pitching unparalleled anywhere in the league the Cannons could once again prove to be a major force in determining where the CNMSBL Championship ends up in August. Playoff proficiency for the Cannons is as expected as the forces dictating the tides. May the “force” be with you, Cannon Nation! Single seat tickets are available by phone at 1 800-CANNONS or on-line at ctcannons.blogspot.com.
Cannons News and Notes: Maule and McDowell moved into a tie for the team lead in at-bats (42) surpassing the vacationing Luby (41); McDowell’s three RBI give him ten in his first full season as a Cannon (he also knocked in the team’s fiftieth run of ‘07), trailing only Maule’s eleven; with his two hits Cal raised his average sixty-seven points; Celio was the only Cannon to have hits against both Marlin starters…with seventy runs scored he is the Cannons lifetime leader in that category…Celio also moved within one walk of the team’s all-time lead (Andy Borst: 39)…in a message delivered by Mancini, Borst “sent his love to the team” saying he hopes to return in the future…management remained mum on this topic; Patenaude has twenty-six strike outs in fifty-two innings of work…he lowered his ERA from 3.58 to 3.50; Craig “the Warrior” Perrier was present for his first win in a Cannons uniform, allowing him to wash said garments; Marlins’ first baseman Furey was not plunked by a Cannons pitcher for the first time in a match-up with Connecticut (Calabrese and Luby have hit the local radio personality on multiple occasions); Cal “got his guinea up” and called Glastonbury left fielder Chris Barry “Shaggy” of Scooby-Doo fame during his final at-bat…Zoinks!; this weekend marked Mancini’s first wedding anniversary…Mancer, when discovering he was scheduled to play right field in both ends of the double dip, was quoted before the game stating: 1) “The field looks flat;” and 2) “If you don’t think you’re worthy, no one else will;” in the Mancini-Skinner match-up, Las Vegas bookmakers made Mancer a forty-to-one underdog to make contact against the former minor leaguer…“Blue Fire” grounded out…to the catcher!; Perrier described Mancini’s hairdo as “Dennis the Menace-esque”…he then questioned the rule that credits the batter with a run scored rather than the pinch runner…he thinks each player should receive .5 runs scored on the stat sheet; Skinner recorded five outs (four via strike outs) in the fifth inning against Cannons batters…he argued with the umpire and when he was given a warning shouted, “Keep your ears out of the dugout”…Mr. Wizard says, “Sound travels;” the Marlins’ righty may possibly be a homophobe after he refused to shake Perrier’s hand post-game…Cal had earlier attacked the “French Tickler” for possibly leading an alternate lifestyle; potential pitching prospect Jack Vanasse plans to appear at New Cannon Yards on Sunday in a team meet-and-greet; Calabrese, Celio, McGann and Perrier were seen on Park Road at Lena’s following the games…Cal, after consuming double-digit drinks, went on to umpire a West Hartford Youth Baseball game while the others ended up at Plan B; after extensive debate it was unclear whether Calabrese’s Green Man tattoo says “Cal” or “Eat”…Celio said of the pitcher’s ink and California visor: “After a bender Cal just looks at his tat and hat to remember his name;” Perrier played Cupid, setting McGann up with friend and Cannons fan Sarah “Admiral” Ackbar; after much debate—and the presentation of a dropped “grenade beer can”—Calabrese and Perrier both agreed to bring cannoli, arguably a fertility symbol, to Italian-Fest ‘07 in a head-to-head competition called Cannoli Boli I.
Post-Season Perigee And Proxigee: Cannons Win 4-3, Lose 10-1 Versus Marlins
Glastonbury, CT (AP)—Tides: the cyclical rising and falling of the Earth’s ocean surface caused by the gravitational or “tractive” forces of the Moon and Sun. Water’s wanderings are most pronounced along coastlines of the world’s oceans, gulfs and bays where tidal ranges—the differences in height between low and high tide—are increased by factors from topography to meteorology, as Joe “Doppler” Furey fans are well aware. From ancient times, tides have been observed and understood with expanding sophistication, first noting the daily recurrence, then their relationship to heavenly bodies—no Cannon Nation, not Leo Dionicio, Jason Maule or John Mancini…especially below the Mancer’s belt!—and knowledge of this daily ebb and flow has become increasingly vital for many of man’s functions, including navigation, fishing and construction of coastal facilities. This natural procession and recession in many ways mirrors the A Division play of the Connecticut Cannons, though this team—the pick of many prognosticators and pundits to win the 2007 CNMSBL Championship—is famously more frustrating to forecast. The Cannons have at times during their two years in the A Division looked like the proverbial big fish in a little pond with successes from series sweeps to powerful playoff performances. In other instances the team has struggled to keep its head above water, languishing in lengthy losing streaks and eight times dropping games by a single run. A gain here, a setback there. Sunday on the road against the Glastonbury Marlins (6-8) was yet another example of the dichotomy that has often defined Connecticut Cannons baseball: a well-played 4-3 win that saw the team play as anticipated in all aspects of the game followed by a 10-1 loss that was the antithesis of the Game One victory. Like baseball’s version of the Beach Boys, the Cannons hope to “catch a wave and they’ll be sitting on top of the world” when the ’07 post-season comes to a close in August. The attraction or, if you will, gravitational pull of this is most alluring to Cannons fans from the Connecticut coast to the capital region.
Old man of the “C,” Mike Patenaude, made the start in the opener after his wondrous, woebegone two hundred two-pitch two-loss outing against first-place Bristol one week ago. The Cannons were able to score a first-inning run against lightning-armed left-hander Kei Hamada courtesy of a Maule walk and stolen base (an overthrow advanced him to third) and a Mike Calabrese sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead. This marked the seventh time that Maule has tallied a first frame run for the Cannons in his fourteen games played this season. The Marlins responded immediately, plating a pair of runs against Patenaude in the home half of the first as he surrendered consecutive hits to Wally Joyner, San Diego State star and former Florida farmhand B. F. Skinner and Ray Allen before getting Chris "Bugsy" Moran on a fly out and Mickey Bantle on a swinging strike out. The Cannons were kept quiet until the sixth when Matt Celio led off with a walk, John Mancini singled sharply to left-centerfield in his first game action in nearly a month following a thirty minute cage session to Baseball City on Saturday and Calabrese lined a ball to left to load the bases. With one out, Cannons Rookie of the Year candidate Drew McDowell smashed a 2-2 pitch deep to an unfortunately fenceless left field that cleared the bases giving the Cannons a 4-2 advantage. Patenaude (7 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 7 H, 5 K, 3 BB) battled the “Asian Assassin” pitch for pitch over the course of the contest allowing just three walks and two hits between the second and sixth innings. In the seventh, Patenaude faced pinch hitter Shawn Barry who hit a rocket right back to the box that the southpaw snagged for the first out of the frame. A single by Beavis Cornholio and an error put the tying run on with just one down but a ground ball to the hole at short allowed an alert and athletic Calabrese’s to cut down the lead runner at third for the second out of the inning. Skinner singled home a run and stole second putting the tying and winning runs just ninety and one hundred eighty feet respectively from home with the clean-up hitter Allen approaching the plate (his two RBI in the first accounted for the Fish’s earlier scoring). Refusing to fold in the face of adversity, Patenaude (2-5) pounded the strike zone with an awesome array of pitches and three swings later the lefty had logged a strike out and his second victory of the season, the Cannons fourth overall matching the team’s 2006 total. Following his winning one hundred eight-pitch performance, Patenaude stated in his post-game press conference: “We showed what kind of team we can be when we play solid defense and come up with some clutch hits. We got great contributions from everybody out there today and that is what has made us successful in the past and will be the key to our immediate future. It hasn’t necessarily shown in the wins column but we are playing with a high level of consistency and confidence that has been the trademark of Cannons Baseball, especially at this time of year. I’m excited about our prospects in the upcoming playoffs. I know I wouldn’t want to face us in an elimination game.”
After the “old man” the Cannons went to Mike “C”alabrese following a lay-off of over two months between starts (May 20 at Marlborough; he relieved Steve Markie on June 3 against Winsted). Not surprisingly, Cal was a bit rusty in the early going as the Marlins built an 8-0 cushion after the first two frames on seven hits, a walk and an error. At the same time Calabrese’s opposite number Skinner was in total command of the Cannons’ batters, facing just one more than the minimum through the first four frames (hitting Mark “Keyser Soze” Lynch with a pitch to lead off the second). Calabrese (6 IP, 10 R, 8 ER, 11 H, 1 K, 3 BB) settled down against a hard-hitting Glastonbury ball club and resembled the 2005 Patenaude Award winner that Connecticut will rely heavily upon if they hope to make a deep run into August. In the top of the fifth, Lynch worked a walk—his third free pass of the day including the HBP—but was erased on a Mike “Big Papio” McGann fielder’s choice. Skinner proceeded to punch out Patenaude and Perrier but in both instances the ball got by the catcher Joyner and the Cannons loaded the bases with two outs. Celio stepped to the plate and hit a hard ground ball up the middle that ricocheted off of the Marlins’ ace breaking up the no-hit bid and bringing home McGann with the first and only Cannons’ run (Calabrese singled in the sixth, his third hit in three games, representing the only other hit against Skinner; Mike Weber and Patenaude singled off of reliever Paul “Bread” Cubeta). Cal (0-3) was touched for single runs in the sixth and seventh but was able to hold the Fish from getting a ten-run lead, keeping the Game Two loss at Marlborough as the last time the team was a victim of the mercy rule. “I told the guys it was going to be Roman Candle City out there early,” quipped Calabrese inside the visitors’ locker room, referencing the trajectory of the towering shots hit by the Marlins. “I wasn’t at my best and we faced a power pitcher who was on his game. I feel great and I’m encouraged that I was able to throw a lot of pitches (one hundred ten, slightly more than management’s expected one hundred pitch count) and that Lynchie and I were able to get back on the same page relatively quickly. I just want to contribute and I know the team is going to need me down the stretch and in the post-season. There is a bunch of baseball to be played and I’m really excited to do my part to bring a second Championship to Cannon Nation. Cutter Nation is back, baby!” Weber added: “We looked at this as a rehab start for Cal. He showed some signs of his old self, especially after the early going, and he understands how important he will be if we are going to rediscover our winning ways in the playoffs. With Patenaude, Calabrese and [Tom] Luby we have three pitchers that can do different things out there. That change of pace could be just the thing to make us a tough out in the tournament.”
Tides: local mismatches at the Earth’s surface create a horizontal force directed towards the surface points closest to and farthest from the Moon and Sun (otherwise known as lunar and solar tide-generating forces) and these forces create the high and low tides experienced around the planet each day. Whenever the Sun, Earth and Moon are perfectly aligned, the gravitational pull is at its greatest causing maximum tides. Local mismatches and perfect alignments. These are things that the Connecticut Cannons look to experience and exploit as the regular-season comes to a close and the post-season gets underway. On Sunday the Marlborough A’s (8-8; tied for 4th place) travel to New Cannon Yards for the final home games of the year. With hitting, fielding and pitching unparalleled anywhere in the league the Cannons could once again prove to be a major force in determining where the CNMSBL Championship ends up in August. Playoff proficiency for the Cannons is as expected as the forces dictating the tides. May the “force” be with you, Cannon Nation! Single seat tickets are available by phone at 1 800-CANNONS or on-line at ctcannons.blogspot.com.
Cannons News and Notes: Maule and McDowell moved into a tie for the team lead in at-bats (42) surpassing the vacationing Luby (41); McDowell’s three RBI give him ten in his first full season as a Cannon (he also knocked in the team’s fiftieth run of ‘07), trailing only Maule’s eleven; with his two hits Cal raised his average sixty-seven points; Celio was the only Cannon to have hits against both Marlin starters…with seventy runs scored he is the Cannons lifetime leader in that category…Celio also moved within one walk of the team’s all-time lead (Andy Borst: 39)…in a message delivered by Mancini, Borst “sent his love to the team” saying he hopes to return in the future…management remained mum on this topic; Patenaude has twenty-six strike outs in fifty-two innings of work…he lowered his ERA from 3.58 to 3.50; Craig “the Warrior” Perrier was present for his first win in a Cannons uniform, allowing him to wash said garments; Marlins’ first baseman Furey was not plunked by a Cannons pitcher for the first time in a match-up with Connecticut (Calabrese and Luby have hit the local radio personality on multiple occasions); Cal “got his guinea up” and called Glastonbury left fielder Chris Barry “Shaggy” of Scooby-Doo fame during his final at-bat…Zoinks!; this weekend marked Mancini’s first wedding anniversary…Mancer, when discovering he was scheduled to play right field in both ends of the double dip, was quoted before the game stating: 1) “The field looks flat;” and 2) “If you don’t think you’re worthy, no one else will;” in the Mancini-Skinner match-up, Las Vegas bookmakers made Mancer a forty-to-one underdog to make contact against the former minor leaguer…“Blue Fire” grounded out…to the catcher!; Perrier described Mancini’s hairdo as “Dennis the Menace-esque”…he then questioned the rule that credits the batter with a run scored rather than the pinch runner…he thinks each player should receive .5 runs scored on the stat sheet; Skinner recorded five outs (four via strike outs) in the fifth inning against Cannons batters…he argued with the umpire and when he was given a warning shouted, “Keep your ears out of the dugout”…Mr. Wizard says, “Sound travels;” the Marlins’ righty may possibly be a homophobe after he refused to shake Perrier’s hand post-game…Cal had earlier attacked the “French Tickler” for possibly leading an alternate lifestyle; potential pitching prospect Jack Vanasse plans to appear at New Cannon Yards on Sunday in a team meet-and-greet; Calabrese, Celio, McGann and Perrier were seen on Park Road at Lena’s following the games…Cal, after consuming double-digit drinks, went on to umpire a West Hartford Youth Baseball game while the others ended up at Plan B; after extensive debate it was unclear whether Calabrese’s Green Man tattoo says “Cal” or “Eat”…Celio said of the pitcher’s ink and California visor: “After a bender Cal just looks at his tat and hat to remember his name;” Perrier played Cupid, setting McGann up with friend and Cannons fan Sarah “Admiral” Ackbar; after much debate—and the presentation of a dropped “grenade beer can”—Calabrese and Perrier both agreed to bring cannoli, arguably a fertility symbol, to Italian-Fest ‘07 in a head-to-head competition called Cannoli Boli I.
Monday, July 16, 2007
OUT OF “ORDER”
Cannons Fight But Fall To First-Place Phoenix
Newington, CT (AP)—One of the most highly anticipated movies of the summer, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, opened on Wednesday and has conjured a whopping total domestic gross of $140 million dollars in the five days following its release. The film follows fifth-year student Harry and his Hogwarts mates who, when faced with the unreliability of the very government of the magical world and the impotence of the authorities at school, arm themselves against the nefarious Lord Voldemort and his dreaded disciples, the Death Eaters. To prepare for the coming conflict, the students form a secret society known as Dumbledore’s Army—an homage to their honored Headmaster, Professor Albus Dumbledore—or simply the D.A. in which they attempt to learn new spells and hexes to counter the power of Voldemort and his acolytes. The D.A. mirrors in miniature the Order of the Phoenix, an organization founded by Dumbledore and his supporters as the major resistance to Voldemort’s rise to power and resultant return. The winds of war begin to blow and battle lines are drawn in this classic confrontation of good versus evil when it is discovered that a prophecy made before Harry’s birth has set the stage for a final fated showdown between Potter and Voldemort: “The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…and the Dark Lord will mark him as an equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies.” As the seventh month reached its mid-way point this past Sunday, the Connecticut Cannons attempted to extend their winning streak against the first-place Bristol Phoenix Continentals (12-2) and although beating the Phoenix proved to be too tall of an order—the 2006 CNMSBL A Division Champions escaped from New Cannon Yards with a pair victories much like Voldemort dematerializing from the Ministry of Magic—Connecticut brilliantly battled Bristol for fourteen innings before eventually losing 3-1 and 5-4. The Cannons may be 0-5 all-time versus the Continentals but they have lost three of those contests by a single run. In doing so, Connecticut has shown that they are a team that has moved from vexed vassal to one on the verge of vengefully vanquishing these vainglorious, villainous and ultimately vincible varmints: essentially, in defeat they have been marked as Bristol’s equal, a team with the obvious ability to defeat the defending champs. “Two hard fought games. They just made fewer mistakes than us and came up bigger in the clutch,” Mike Weber succinctly stated to scores of reporters outside the team’s locker room. “Another solid performance that saw us come up just short. These are all building blocks for where we want to be in another month or so.” Bristol cannot survive at the end of August if Connecticut hopes to accomplish its goal of winning the 2007 title and with the post-season quickly approaching the Cannons look to find the mystical powers that made them the pre-season picks to win the D.A.—Division A—of the CNMSBL. Accio Championship!
After a three-week layoff following his first victory of the 2007 season Mike Patenaude, the ageless Albus Dumbledore of the A Division, was back on the bump where he was once again a wonder for the Cannons. The left-hander labored through the first few innings and was even overheard discussing his “effective wildness” with centerfielder Jason Maule but the fifty-one year old phenom was able to battle out of early jams courtesy of a pair of strike outs and a double play. Connecticut grabbed a one-run lead in the home half of the second as Chris “T-Rex” Barsa singled with two down and Weber followed with a deep RBI double, his first—spoiler alert: though not his last—as a member of the A Division. Bristol broke through against Patenaude in the third as a result of some small ball as Gepetto Rosano reached on an error, advanced to second on a single, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and subsequently scored on a ground out to tie the score at 1. The Cannons had a chance to take the lead in the third when Matt Celio led off with a double but he was stranded at third base to end the inning, the final time a Cannons batter would be in scoring position against undefeated starting pitcher Guglielmo Arconii (7-0). Patenaude (7 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 10 H, 2 K, 1 BB) was hit hard in the fourth, eventually being touched for two runs on two doubles and two singles by the heart of the Continentals order, but was able to escape further damage when he induced another double play and a ground out to Mike Calabrese who flashed a golden glove at second. “Cal certainly has the makings to make us better. We need his leather,” said Celio in his post-game press conference. Barsa singled in the fifth, Craig Perrier had a base hit in the sixth and Tom Luby worked a one-bagger in the seventh—he was injured on the play with what Cannons team physicians described as a “moderate strain of the upper sartorial muscle”—but the bats fizzled and Patenaude found himself on the wrong end of another hard-luck loss, his fourth in five starts. Patenaude (1-4) pontificated on his eighty-five pitch performance: “I didn’t have my best stuff out there in the opener but the defense played pretty well behind me, Mark [“Keyser Soze” Lynch] called a great game and we hung in there against a solid Bristol ball club. Our guys put bats on balls but we just couldn’t come up with that big hit to get our offense going. Though I’m disappointed with the loss, we’ll be in good shape over the next month if we keep playing like we did today.”
With bang that bespoke a loose left arm, “Iron Man” Patenaude yet again positioned himself on his familiar perch and pitched another excellent game for the Cannons. Bristol was able to take a first-inning lead on a single, an error and a two-out two-run base hit by Oliver Platt but Connecticut chopped the lead in half in the bottom of the first on a two-out walk and stolen base by Drew McDowell and an RBI single from Luby who, though slowed by the severe pain of his injury, continued to show signs of why he will once again be a force to be reckoned with when he and the rest of the team plays on the league’s biggest stage in August. Earlier in the day Luby even tipped a knowing wink to reporters and stated, “Win or lose, we’re on the booze,” as he ritualistically sipped his pre-game Budweiser. The Cannons jumped on top in the home half of the third on a lead-off single by Mike McGann who later scored on a clutch two-out double by the “Almighty” Luby. Barsa would reach on a fielder’s choice grounder as Luby’s courtesy runner McDowell scampered back safely to second before Bristol’s third baseman Platt could apply an inning-ending tag. Weber made sure the foible was felt by the Phoenix with his second double of the day deep down the left field line scoring McDowell to give the Cannons a 3-2 advantage. Patenaude again fought out of fixes in the fourth and fifth innings as a result of a duo of double plays and Connecticut added to the lead in the fifth as McDowell singled, moved to second on a passed ball, advanced to third on Luby’s third hit of the game—the team’s one hundredth of the season—and scored on Lynch’s sacrifice fly to provide a two-run cushion with two innings to play. Patenaude (7 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 12 H, 2 K, 2 BB) allowed a lead-off single in the sixth but a ground ball to the slick-fielding Calabrese at short forced a fielder’s choice at second for the first out of the inning. A double to right by Dane Cook put runners at second and third with one down and hard-hitting Lord Farquarson coming to bat. With first base open Patenaude opted to pitch to Bristol’s designated hitter whom he had dazzled for much of the day with a steady diet of sliders and change-ups. However, Farquarson deposited Patenaude’s first pitch deep in the right center gap for a double and the game was knotted at 4. The Phoenix filled the bases but a line drive snag and tag of the bag by Luby at third resulted in the fifth double play of the day for the Cannons and the team had a chance to take back the lead in the home half of the sixth but Perrier, Calabrese and Celio went in order to send the game into its final frame. Patenaude (1-5) struck out the first batter he faced and got a ground out to Weber at second but as he approached the two hundred-pitch barrier he gave up back-to-back singles to Bristol’s three and four batters, Eric Roberts—who stole second—and Doug “Freddie Mercury” Riemer to give the Continentals a 5-4 lead that would prove to be the margin of victory (McGann reached on an error in the bottom of the seventh after nearly being struck by back-to-back pitches—Calabrese called McGann “Rudi Stein,” the light-hitting player who Coach Morris Buttermaker told to lean into a pitch in The Bad News Bears—but McDowell’s slicing line drive to left was snow-coned by Riemer for the final out of the game, a microcosm of Connecticut’s season to this point). As results from around the league flashed on the New Cannon Yards scoreboard it was discovered that Newington’s other team, the Capitals, had split their double header with the Winsted Rifles to move into a last-place log-jam with the Cannons (3-11). “Patenaude should be named one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World,” marveled Manager Celio of the two hundred two-pitch performance. “How a pitcher can chuck back-to-back games of a double header at this point of the season is beyond me. He is throwing at a very high level right now and we are going to ride his left arm as long as we can. It’s not enough to earn the respect of the other teams around the league though. We have to earn MP and the team some wins before all is said and done. We’re seeing the birth of a league legend here but we can’t be satisfied with sitting back and just watching him throw himself into the history books. It’s time to take a stand and come up big.”
Abracadabra! August is all but upon us and with it the CNMSBL playoffs. The appropriate ingredients for post-season success are in abundant supply in the Cannons’ clubhouse: offense, defense and pitching are all powerful and prominent ingredients if a title is to be taken in 2007. To find the winning formula just mix liberal yet equal amounts of each and you have created the potent potion for Saturday and Sunday success, commingling and coalescing into a Cannons Championship concoction. Cannon Nation and the rest of the wizarding world wonders: Are Connecticut’s players mere Muggles or will they discover the magic that will allow them to take the ’07 CNMSBL A Division title? The answer lies ahead at Glastonbury’s Fish Bowl this Sunday as the Cannons look to cast their spell against the Marlins (Loge Box, Outfield Grandstand and Standing Room Only seats are available at 1 800 CANNONS or on-line at ctcannons.blogspot.net). Expecto Patronum, A Division!
Cannons News and Notes: With fifteen hits on Sunday the Cannons’ team average jumped from .267 to .288; free agent acquisitions McDowell and Perrier are both batting .278 through fourteen games; McDowell’s hit was his tenth of the season…he joined Maule (16) and Luby (15) as Cannons players with double-digit hits in 2007; Weber’s two doubles moved him into a third-place tie with Leo Dionicio, Luby and Perrier for the season (Maule has seven; Celio has four)…his first two-base hit was the team’s twentieth of the campaign; Web—or Wes—leads the team with 310 lifetime at-bats; McGann became the only player other than Maule to lead off a game for the Cannons in '07; Patenaude’s fourth-inning hit in Game Two was the 1111 in Cannons history; Patenaude has fanned twenty-one of the forty opponents Cannons pitchers have retired via the strike out…he lowered his team-leading ERA from 3.84 to 3.53; the five double plays turned by Connecticut were the team’s most ever for a single Sunday; the Cannons have never won an A Division game immediately following a league-mandated holiday weekend; Dionicio missed Sunday’s games with back spasms; Lynch confirmed reports that Cal’s favorite show is indeed Spongebob Squarepants; Celio, Lynch, Kevin McGann, Mike McGann and Weber attended the appropriately-named Sun-day, July 8 New Britain Rock Cats game (a 4-3 come-from-behind victory for the Cats on a sultry 98° afternoon); Cannons management has started to explore new uniform designs for the 2008 season (grey figures to be prominently featured with green, maroon, navy and blue as potential complimentary colors...Get Your GREEN On?); Three Sheets on MOJO has been named the “Official Television Program of Cannon Nation” and has signed on as a corporate sponsor; the 2007 Cannons Awards ballots will be issued on Monday, August 6.
Cannons Fight But Fall To First-Place Phoenix
Newington, CT (AP)—One of the most highly anticipated movies of the summer, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, opened on Wednesday and has conjured a whopping total domestic gross of $140 million dollars in the five days following its release. The film follows fifth-year student Harry and his Hogwarts mates who, when faced with the unreliability of the very government of the magical world and the impotence of the authorities at school, arm themselves against the nefarious Lord Voldemort and his dreaded disciples, the Death Eaters. To prepare for the coming conflict, the students form a secret society known as Dumbledore’s Army—an homage to their honored Headmaster, Professor Albus Dumbledore—or simply the D.A. in which they attempt to learn new spells and hexes to counter the power of Voldemort and his acolytes. The D.A. mirrors in miniature the Order of the Phoenix, an organization founded by Dumbledore and his supporters as the major resistance to Voldemort’s rise to power and resultant return. The winds of war begin to blow and battle lines are drawn in this classic confrontation of good versus evil when it is discovered that a prophecy made before Harry’s birth has set the stage for a final fated showdown between Potter and Voldemort: “The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…and the Dark Lord will mark him as an equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies.” As the seventh month reached its mid-way point this past Sunday, the Connecticut Cannons attempted to extend their winning streak against the first-place Bristol Phoenix Continentals (12-2) and although beating the Phoenix proved to be too tall of an order—the 2006 CNMSBL A Division Champions escaped from New Cannon Yards with a pair victories much like Voldemort dematerializing from the Ministry of Magic—Connecticut brilliantly battled Bristol for fourteen innings before eventually losing 3-1 and 5-4. The Cannons may be 0-5 all-time versus the Continentals but they have lost three of those contests by a single run. In doing so, Connecticut has shown that they are a team that has moved from vexed vassal to one on the verge of vengefully vanquishing these vainglorious, villainous and ultimately vincible varmints: essentially, in defeat they have been marked as Bristol’s equal, a team with the obvious ability to defeat the defending champs. “Two hard fought games. They just made fewer mistakes than us and came up bigger in the clutch,” Mike Weber succinctly stated to scores of reporters outside the team’s locker room. “Another solid performance that saw us come up just short. These are all building blocks for where we want to be in another month or so.” Bristol cannot survive at the end of August if Connecticut hopes to accomplish its goal of winning the 2007 title and with the post-season quickly approaching the Cannons look to find the mystical powers that made them the pre-season picks to win the D.A.—Division A—of the CNMSBL. Accio Championship!
After a three-week layoff following his first victory of the 2007 season Mike Patenaude, the ageless Albus Dumbledore of the A Division, was back on the bump where he was once again a wonder for the Cannons. The left-hander labored through the first few innings and was even overheard discussing his “effective wildness” with centerfielder Jason Maule but the fifty-one year old phenom was able to battle out of early jams courtesy of a pair of strike outs and a double play. Connecticut grabbed a one-run lead in the home half of the second as Chris “T-Rex” Barsa singled with two down and Weber followed with a deep RBI double, his first—spoiler alert: though not his last—as a member of the A Division. Bristol broke through against Patenaude in the third as a result of some small ball as Gepetto Rosano reached on an error, advanced to second on a single, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and subsequently scored on a ground out to tie the score at 1. The Cannons had a chance to take the lead in the third when Matt Celio led off with a double but he was stranded at third base to end the inning, the final time a Cannons batter would be in scoring position against undefeated starting pitcher Guglielmo Arconii (7-0). Patenaude (7 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 10 H, 2 K, 1 BB) was hit hard in the fourth, eventually being touched for two runs on two doubles and two singles by the heart of the Continentals order, but was able to escape further damage when he induced another double play and a ground out to Mike Calabrese who flashed a golden glove at second. “Cal certainly has the makings to make us better. We need his leather,” said Celio in his post-game press conference. Barsa singled in the fifth, Craig Perrier had a base hit in the sixth and Tom Luby worked a one-bagger in the seventh—he was injured on the play with what Cannons team physicians described as a “moderate strain of the upper sartorial muscle”—but the bats fizzled and Patenaude found himself on the wrong end of another hard-luck loss, his fourth in five starts. Patenaude (1-4) pontificated on his eighty-five pitch performance: “I didn’t have my best stuff out there in the opener but the defense played pretty well behind me, Mark [“Keyser Soze” Lynch] called a great game and we hung in there against a solid Bristol ball club. Our guys put bats on balls but we just couldn’t come up with that big hit to get our offense going. Though I’m disappointed with the loss, we’ll be in good shape over the next month if we keep playing like we did today.”
With bang that bespoke a loose left arm, “Iron Man” Patenaude yet again positioned himself on his familiar perch and pitched another excellent game for the Cannons. Bristol was able to take a first-inning lead on a single, an error and a two-out two-run base hit by Oliver Platt but Connecticut chopped the lead in half in the bottom of the first on a two-out walk and stolen base by Drew McDowell and an RBI single from Luby who, though slowed by the severe pain of his injury, continued to show signs of why he will once again be a force to be reckoned with when he and the rest of the team plays on the league’s biggest stage in August. Earlier in the day Luby even tipped a knowing wink to reporters and stated, “Win or lose, we’re on the booze,” as he ritualistically sipped his pre-game Budweiser. The Cannons jumped on top in the home half of the third on a lead-off single by Mike McGann who later scored on a clutch two-out double by the “Almighty” Luby. Barsa would reach on a fielder’s choice grounder as Luby’s courtesy runner McDowell scampered back safely to second before Bristol’s third baseman Platt could apply an inning-ending tag. Weber made sure the foible was felt by the Phoenix with his second double of the day deep down the left field line scoring McDowell to give the Cannons a 3-2 advantage. Patenaude again fought out of fixes in the fourth and fifth innings as a result of a duo of double plays and Connecticut added to the lead in the fifth as McDowell singled, moved to second on a passed ball, advanced to third on Luby’s third hit of the game—the team’s one hundredth of the season—and scored on Lynch’s sacrifice fly to provide a two-run cushion with two innings to play. Patenaude (7 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 12 H, 2 K, 2 BB) allowed a lead-off single in the sixth but a ground ball to the slick-fielding Calabrese at short forced a fielder’s choice at second for the first out of the inning. A double to right by Dane Cook put runners at second and third with one down and hard-hitting Lord Farquarson coming to bat. With first base open Patenaude opted to pitch to Bristol’s designated hitter whom he had dazzled for much of the day with a steady diet of sliders and change-ups. However, Farquarson deposited Patenaude’s first pitch deep in the right center gap for a double and the game was knotted at 4. The Phoenix filled the bases but a line drive snag and tag of the bag by Luby at third resulted in the fifth double play of the day for the Cannons and the team had a chance to take back the lead in the home half of the sixth but Perrier, Calabrese and Celio went in order to send the game into its final frame. Patenaude (1-5) struck out the first batter he faced and got a ground out to Weber at second but as he approached the two hundred-pitch barrier he gave up back-to-back singles to Bristol’s three and four batters, Eric Roberts—who stole second—and Doug “Freddie Mercury” Riemer to give the Continentals a 5-4 lead that would prove to be the margin of victory (McGann reached on an error in the bottom of the seventh after nearly being struck by back-to-back pitches—Calabrese called McGann “Rudi Stein,” the light-hitting player who Coach Morris Buttermaker told to lean into a pitch in The Bad News Bears—but McDowell’s slicing line drive to left was snow-coned by Riemer for the final out of the game, a microcosm of Connecticut’s season to this point). As results from around the league flashed on the New Cannon Yards scoreboard it was discovered that Newington’s other team, the Capitals, had split their double header with the Winsted Rifles to move into a last-place log-jam with the Cannons (3-11). “Patenaude should be named one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World,” marveled Manager Celio of the two hundred two-pitch performance. “How a pitcher can chuck back-to-back games of a double header at this point of the season is beyond me. He is throwing at a very high level right now and we are going to ride his left arm as long as we can. It’s not enough to earn the respect of the other teams around the league though. We have to earn MP and the team some wins before all is said and done. We’re seeing the birth of a league legend here but we can’t be satisfied with sitting back and just watching him throw himself into the history books. It’s time to take a stand and come up big.”
Abracadabra! August is all but upon us and with it the CNMSBL playoffs. The appropriate ingredients for post-season success are in abundant supply in the Cannons’ clubhouse: offense, defense and pitching are all powerful and prominent ingredients if a title is to be taken in 2007. To find the winning formula just mix liberal yet equal amounts of each and you have created the potent potion for Saturday and Sunday success, commingling and coalescing into a Cannons Championship concoction. Cannon Nation and the rest of the wizarding world wonders: Are Connecticut’s players mere Muggles or will they discover the magic that will allow them to take the ’07 CNMSBL A Division title? The answer lies ahead at Glastonbury’s Fish Bowl this Sunday as the Cannons look to cast their spell against the Marlins (Loge Box, Outfield Grandstand and Standing Room Only seats are available at 1 800 CANNONS or on-line at ctcannons.blogspot.net). Expecto Patronum, A Division!
Cannons News and Notes: With fifteen hits on Sunday the Cannons’ team average jumped from .267 to .288; free agent acquisitions McDowell and Perrier are both batting .278 through fourteen games; McDowell’s hit was his tenth of the season…he joined Maule (16) and Luby (15) as Cannons players with double-digit hits in 2007; Weber’s two doubles moved him into a third-place tie with Leo Dionicio, Luby and Perrier for the season (Maule has seven; Celio has four)…his first two-base hit was the team’s twentieth of the campaign; Web—or Wes—leads the team with 310 lifetime at-bats; McGann became the only player other than Maule to lead off a game for the Cannons in '07; Patenaude’s fourth-inning hit in Game Two was the 1111 in Cannons history; Patenaude has fanned twenty-one of the forty opponents Cannons pitchers have retired via the strike out…he lowered his team-leading ERA from 3.84 to 3.53; the five double plays turned by Connecticut were the team’s most ever for a single Sunday; the Cannons have never won an A Division game immediately following a league-mandated holiday weekend; Dionicio missed Sunday’s games with back spasms; Lynch confirmed reports that Cal’s favorite show is indeed Spongebob Squarepants; Celio, Lynch, Kevin McGann, Mike McGann and Weber attended the appropriately-named Sun-day, July 8 New Britain Rock Cats game (a 4-3 come-from-behind victory for the Cats on a sultry 98° afternoon); Cannons management has started to explore new uniform designs for the 2008 season (grey figures to be prominently featured with green, maroon, navy and blue as potential complimentary colors...Get Your GREEN On?); Three Sheets on MOJO has been named the “Official Television Program of Cannon Nation” and has signed on as a corporate sponsor; the 2007 Cannons Awards ballots will be issued on Monday, August 6.
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