By now you might have heard that the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees will not be playing their 2012 season at PNC Field in Pennsylvania due to the much needed $40 million renovation.  Now the only question is where will they play.

Right now there are several sites being considered for the Triple-A Yanks, one of them being Staten Island.  The Forgotten Borough as it was once nicknamed is home to the New York Yankees Short Season-A team and would provide the Triple-A team with a first-class facility in New York City and a place to call home instead of traveling around and use other ballparks as “home” stadiums.

What makes Staten Island an excellent choice is that the stadium is ran by the Staten Island Yankees who are jointly owned by Mandalay Baseball Properties and the New York Yankees.  Those two companies also own SWB Yankees, LLC the company that is finalizing the purchase of the Triple-A team from the Lackawanna Stadium Authority.

Now in order for the Yankees to call the Richmond County Bank Ballpark home for a season they need to get the approval of the New York Mets and the Brooklyn Cyclones who have the territory rights for the area.  If a deal could be worked out between those two then the real winners of this would be New York City as a whole.

Why do I say that?  Well it is simple, the revenue that will come in from the team playing here.  It is 72 more games a year that people will be manning concessions, buying tickets and also another 72 more games of attendance figures that will be tacked onto the reporting for rent on the stadium.

At present time the rent on the Richmond County Bank Ballpark is tied to actual attendance, this is the amount of people that actually show up to a game.  If the minimum of 250,000 people show up in a year then the team will pay the minimum payment of $100,000 and the more people that come more money that is paid up to the maximum payment of $250,000.  At present time the team has never reached the 250,000 mark in actual attendance and thus never paid rent.  That also includes the amount of people who show up to the college and high school games played at the stadium, the Triple-A team will more than likely draw a lot more people especially since you have top prospects, former major leaguers and the possibility for more rehabbing players.

Let’s not rule out the tax collected on salaries and wages.  Since these boys could be playing half of their games in NYC then half of their annual salary is taxed here.  If you do not know how complicated taxes are for professional athletes here is a taste.  The players are taxed depending on where the games are played, so if they play 72 games in a city, 10 in another, 10 in another, etc. their salary is divided up as such.  Add in the taxes collected on ushers, concession and maintenance workers etc.

Other benefits include: the money spent on housing, food, nights out.  These guys will spend a good amount of money on those things so it would not be surprising to see a small boast to local shops.

There you have it, the very basics on how the Triple-A Yanks playing in Staten Island would be beneficial to New York City.

In the ninth inning, with two outs on the board a runner at second big third baseman Zach Wilson stepped up to the plate for the Staten Island Yankees. With his team down by a run and the tying run 180-feet away, Wilson lined the ball to right field solidifying the Baby Bomber comeback and forcing extra innings.

Late inning heroics have come to be the norm for the 2011 Staten Island Yankees as they are riding a twelve game winning streak, one shy of a franchise record. At present time the Baby Bombers are undefeated against the rest of the NY-Penn League, with only the Brooklyn Cyclones handing them two losses in the opening series of the season.

The Yankees were playing catch up to their cross-town rival Brooklyn Cyclones for the majority of the game after two homeruns were given up by starter Richard Martinez. With the team down 4-0 in the bottom of the third inning Staten Island would plate their first runs of the ball game.

Casey Stevenson started it off with an infield single to the third baseman; he then went to second when Wes Wilson was hit by the pitch. Bobby Rinard grounded into a force out at second that erased Wilson but moved Stevenson over to third. Mason Williams then hit a sacrifice fly to right field. With Cito Culver at the place Bobby Rinard stole second and then went to third on a bad throw by the catcher before scoring on a single by Culver. With that the Yankees cut the lead down to two runs.

After the Cyclones plated another run in the top of the sixth it looked like the Baby Bombers win streak was about to end. However in the bottom of the ninth the offense had another idea. After two strike-outs to start the inning Mason Williams earned a walk and came home to score on a Cito Culver double. Ali Castillo then came into the game as a pinch-hitter replacing Gumbs and singled on a line drive to left, bringing in Culver. With big third baseman Zach Wilson at the plate a passed ball would bring Castillo to second base. Then a line drive to right field by Wilson ties the game up as the stadium erupted in cheers. A strikeout by Reymond Nunez ended the inning and forced the game into the tenth.

In the bottom of the tenth inning Shane Brown started it off with a single to left before moving to second on a wild pitch. After a strikeout another wild pitch moved Brown over to third for Wes Wilson. Wes then sent the ball into shallow centerfield for a game-winning sacrifice fly.

With the win the Staten Island Yankees continue their dominance this season. Leading the league with 13 wins and a .867 winning percentage.

Aside from the late-inning heroics the hero of the game was 2010 Yankees first round draft pick Cito Culver who made many outstanding defensive plays, including one that was completely Jeter-esque. Culver had two great diving stops and showed off his great throwing arm on a close double-play late in the game.

Tomorrow night these two teams will square off again, this time at MCU Park in Brooklyn with a game time of 6:00pm.

“I felt good,” said New York Yankees right-handed pitcher Phil Hughes after a 61 pitch rehab appearance for the Staten Island Yankees. “I kind of struggled there in the first inning,” referring to the base-loaded jam he found himself early on in the game.

The young pitcher made his first ever appearance in the New York-Penn league at the home of the Brooklyn Cyclones in Coney Island, NY. Hughes pitched in front of a crowd of 7,966 going four and a third innings before being lifted after a monster home run by Nelfi Zapata. Over all he allowed three hits and a walk while striking out seven of the batters he faced. His velocity in the game was consistently in the low 90s, hitting a top speed of 95.

Hughes was originally scheduled to pitch another game down in Tampa but due to off days the Yankees decided to send him up to New York. He seemed to have enjoyed it, “Pitching in this type of atmosphere is going to give anybody a shot of adrenaline and a couple MPH to your pitches.”

Phil is expecting to make at least one more rehab appearance in five days with the Trenton Thunder in New Britain but will remain in New York and work out at the Ballpark in Staten Island until the big club comes back into town this week.

As the Brooklyn Cyclones were just starting to put together a two-out rally against Yankees right-hander Branden Pinder, Cyclones right-fielder Javier Rodriguez sent a fly ball into right field that looked like it would fall in for a base hit but Staten Island right-fielder Ben Gamel had ideas of his own. Gamel flew thru the air and made an incredible diving catch to end the game and give the Staten Island Yankees their first win of the 2011 season.

Right-handed pitcher William Oliver, a 35th Round pick from last year’s draft, made the start for the Baby Bombers. Oliver struck out eight Cyclone batters but also allowed four hits and two walks in his four innings of work. He was relieved by Dustin Hobbs who earned the win throwing two innings allowing a run on a walk and two hits.

Staten Island was the first to put runs on the board in the contest. In the top of the fifth inning Ben Gamel started it off with a fly ball double to right and ten moved to third when Reymond Nunez singled to center. After a walk to Casey Stevenson loaded the bases, Shane Brown flew out to short-right field before Jhorge Liccien sent a sacrifice fly to deep right-field to bring in Gamel. Robert Rinard then lined a single to center to bring in Nunez, giving the Yankees a 2-0 lead.

The Yankees went to add an insurance run in the top of the sixth inning after Angelo Gumbs drew a one-out walk, stole second and moved to third on a ground out before scoring on a line drive single to center by Reymond Nunez. But in the bottom of the inning the Cyclones plated their first run after Richard Lucas singled and then scored on a Travis Taijeron double.

Phillip Wetherell came into the game to make his professional debut in the seventh inning. Wetherel allowed a hit and struck out two on 25 pitches, 14 for strikes. He was followed by Zach Arneson who also made his professional debut and struck out one in his inning on 11 pitches, 8 for strikes.

Brandon Pinder then came into the game for the ninth inning. After two quick outs Daniel Muno doubled to right then went to third on a wild pitch. He then came home on a single to center by Brandon Brown. Next up at the plate was Javier Rodriguez who was not an easy out for the Yankee pitcher. After seeing many pictures he sent the ball flying into right field where Ben Gamel made his incredible catch.

Tomorrow night these two teams will meet up again with New York Yankees pitcher Phil Hughes making his rehab start for the Staten Island Yankees. That game will start at 5:00.

(Editor’s Note) A lot of things have been written about Wally Backman over the last decade, much of it unsubstantiated drivel, written by people who preferred cutting and pasting information from previous material to actual research. More has been written by people who knew Backman 30 years ago, and hadn’t spoken to him since he became a story again. Ed Shakespeare is neither of these, and when he first asked me about spending the 2010 season in Coney Island to get to know Wally in preparation for this piece, I knew he was the perfect person for the job. In addition to being a incredibly gifted writer, Shakespeare is also a man of integrity. Please enjoy his long-awaited retirn to Gotham Baseball. – MH

Wally Backman is back.

From head – his cranium bursting with myriad bunt, steal, and hit-and run strategies – to foot, with a pack of cigarettes and a lighter tucked into his left baseball sock, Wally Backman is a 69-inch, barrel-chested, tightly wrapped bundle of wired energy.

This season Backman brought that energy to the dugout as he returned to affiliated baseball for the first time since 2004, and the former Mets’ second baseman managed the Brooklyn Cyclones to a first place finish in the McNamara Division of the New York-Penn League with a 51-24 regular season record, the second best record in the ten-year history of the Cyclones.

In the play-offs, Brooklyn came back from a one-game deficit to win the best-of-three semi-final series in three games against Jamestown, but the Cyclones lost the league championship series in two games to Tri-City.

It was a season in which the 50-year-old skipper’s on and off-field performance placed him back on the short list as a major league managerial candidate.

It took Backman twenty-two years to get back to the Mets’ organization, thirty-three years after first signing with them. With the Mets having let go manager Jerry Manuel, Backman is a leading candidate for the opening of New York’s manager.

A lot happened in twenty-two years.

After his fourteen-year playing career ended during the 1993 season, Backman took some time away from baseball, and then began paying his managerial dues by skippering a host of clubs in the minor leagues. Backman was a steady learner, his managerial reputation was on the rise, and he was named the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks on November 1, 2004. He was fired four days later. And one of the most competitive men on the planet has been fighting to get back to the big leagues as a manager ever since.

The rise and fall of Backman’s career is a tale that mirrors the path of the Cyclone, the Coney Island roller coaster ride for which the Brooklyn ball club is named. Like the steep ascent of the ride that can be seen over the left field fence at the Cyclones home field (M.C.U. Park), Backman started his professional career on the up-tick.

He was only seventeen years old when the Aloha High School graduate was drafted in the first round (sixteenth overall) by the Mets in the 1977 Major League Baseball Draft, and Backman traveled across country from his Oregon home to play for Little Falls, New York, the Mets’ affiliate in the New York-Penn League.

“I was a homesick kid away from home for the first time,” notes the Cyclones’ skipper. “I had never been west of Utah, and I was calling home every day.”

But Backman didn’t spend all his time on the phone, and he found time to hit .325 with six home runs.

He rose quickly through the Mets’ system, and after hitting .293 for the Mets Triple-A team at Tidewater in 1980, Backman received a September call-up and got a hit in his first at-bat and finished at .323 in 27 games.

For the next three years he battled for a starting job at second base, finally becoming a regular in 1984, when he hit .280 with 32 stolen bases. Usually hitting second, Backman successfully used the hit-and run, the steal, and the bunt, both as a sacrifice and for a base hit, to great advantage.

The highlight of his career was his performance for the 1986 World Champion Mets, when Backman, a switch-hitter who batted much better from the left-side, platooned at second with Tim Teufel and hit.320. After Backman was traded from the Mets to Minnesota after the 1988 season, he started to bounce around, playing for Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and finally for Seattle before his release during the 1993 season ended his playing career.

He finished with a career average of .275, with 482 runs and 112 stolen bases, but more important than the respectable numbers was his reputation for hard and intelligent play

Backman began his managerial career with the woebegone Catskill Cougars of the independent Northeast League in 1997, compiling a 3-23 mark in part of the season. Backman then managed the independent Bend Bandits of the Western League in 1998, taking the team to a second place finish in the Northern Division. He skippered the Tri-City Posse for the next two years in the Western League, finishing second overall in 1999, but then winning the league championship in the playoffs. In his second year with the team, Tri-City finished fourth in the Northern Division.

In 2002 Backman took the reins of the Chicago White Double-A team, the Birmingham Barons, and led them to the Southern League championship. In 2004, he managed the high-A Lancaster team of the Arizona Diamondbacks, reaching the California League’s championship series. He was then named the Sporting News Minor League Manager of the Year.

Soon after the World Series in 2004, Backman was named manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Unfortunately for Backman, reports almost immediately reports surfaced of the newly named manager having had both a prior conviction on a DUI charge in 1999, and a guilty plea of harassment in 2001. The Diamondbacks quickly let Backman go.

The roller coaster had hit rock bottom, and from that moment Backman has been trying to make a comeback and get another big league managing job. The Mets’ organization wants him to avoid talking about his dismissal from Arizona, and Backman has complied with their wishes.

Early in his stint as the Cyclones’ manager, as one reporter began to edge his questions toward the incidents, Backman replied, “I know where you’re going, and I’m not going to go there. That all happened in the past; those were the worst two days of my life, and I’m looking to the future.”

But while Backman is reluctant to discuss the past, he freely states his plan for the future.

“I want to manage in the majors,” he stated emphatically, happy to be back in affiliated baseball.

How did he get back into the Mets’ system? It wasn’t easy.

Backman began his comeback trail in 2007 as the manager of the South Georgia Peanuts, an independent team in the newly formed South Coast League. He led them to the league’s championship. The manager and his team were chosen by award-winning filmmaker John Fitzgerald for his critically-acclaimed television series, Playing for Peanuts, and Backman’s out-going personality and some fiery disputes with umpires garnered Backman some additional attention.

The South Coast League folded after the season, and Backman hooked on as the manager of the independent Joliet Jackhammers for the 2008 season.

Then, this past winter, Backman had an idea.

“I called Jeff Wilpon [the Mets’ Chief Operating Officer] this year early in the winter time,” said Backman. “I just wish I had called him five years earlier.”

The call proved fruitful, and Backman signed on to manage the Cyclones.

“Jeff and Fred Wilpon [Mets’ owners] and Adam Wogan [Mets’ Director of Minor League Personnel] gave me this opportunity,” explained Backman, “and they can evaluate me.”

So essentially, Backman had embarked on a year-long tryout.

And this was not a tryout in the sticks. No, Brooklyn’s M.C.U. Park is only about fifteen miles from Citi Field, the Queens home of the Mets. So Backman was working right under the nose of the home office. The Cyclones may be in a short-season A league, but it’s not a short-season A atmosphere. The team has led the New York-Penn League in attendance in each of Brooklyn’s ten years in the league, and sometimes the New York press corps at the game is substantial.

Backman was under the microscope.

In the previous three months he had been working in obscurity in Port St. Lucie in extended spring training. In games in which more than a half dozen spectators were rare, Backman began working with some of the players, such as center fielder Darrell Ceciliani and third baseman Joe Bonfe, who would form the backbone of the Cyclones when the Brooklyn season began in mid-June.

“We got a pretty good core of players that we brought from [extended] spring training,” explained Backman, “And then we added some top draft choices.”

The New York-Penn League started on June 18, and the Cyclones won Backman’s first game, a 5-3 away win over the rival Staten Island Yankees, and the Cyclones were off and running – literally.

Brooklyn did have a player with exceptional speed in Ceciliani, but the overall team speed was only average, and the club did have good power, so the expected form of attack would be that, with the exception of Ceciliani, the team would play it close to the vest on the bases and wait for the power to drive in the runs. But the expected formula doesn’t work with Backman.

“I like to put pressure on the defense to force them to make mistakes,” said Brooklyn’s new leader, and that’s exactly what the Cyclones did.

“Wally manages just the way he played – aggressive,” noted former his Met teammate, reliever John Franco, who broadcast one of the Cyclones’ games on radio.

Playing “Wally Ball” right from the start, Brooklyn used Backman’s love of the bunt, steal and hit-and-run to get off to a 9-4 start in June.

The Cyclones had been in first place off-and-on for the season’s first four weeks, but they moved into first place with a win over Mahoning Valley on July 14, and stayed in first place for the remainder of the season, surging into a double-figure lead in August and easily winning the McNamara Division, finishing twelve games ahead of second place Hudson Valley.

The Cyclones led the league in batting average (.283) and homers (64), as well as in pitching (3.05 ERA).

Individually, Ceciliani led the league in batting at .351, and outfielder Cory Vaughn, son of former major leaguer Greg Vaughn, led the league in slugging at .557.

Brooklyn also had three of the top four ERA leaders in Yohan Almonte (first at 1.91), Angel Quan (second at 2.03), and A.J. Pinera (fourth at 2.44).

By all accounts, on and off the field, Backman’s season had been an unqualified success. Did the fiery Backman suddenly turn into a milquetoast Mister Rogers as the Brooklyn skipper? Hardly. It’s not in the man’s nature.

‘I don’t see myself the way the public sees me,” admits Backman. “They say I’m feisty. I am the way I am. If that’s what a feisty manager is, then I guess I am feisty.”

Yes, Backman was, is, and always will be feisty. He came on the field a number of times to argue with umpires this year, but not excessively so. He was ejected only three times.

“Am I going to get ejected from games? Absolutely, no question about it,” says Brooklyn’s on-field leader.

“Take every ejection I’ve ever had. Ninety-nine percent of the time it was because of a player. If they’re right, wrong, or indifferent, you’ve got to have their back.”

Backman backed his players on the field, but he wasn’t shy about expressing displeasure with the Cyclone players either. Most of the time he took things a lot more calmly than an outsider might expect, but on occasion Backman could yell.

“Did I yell at them, scream at them – absolutely,” said the manager. “But they knew that I wanted the best for them.”

Let’s not forget that Backman is an experienced minor league manager, and he’s intelligent, so he knows not to go to the well too many times with the yelling and screaming approach.

“You can’t yell at the team thirty times a season. I’ve had maybe three times this season when I’ve sat the team down and said my piece,” explained Backman. “You have to know when to pick your times.”

Another area that Backman emphasized was the handling of his bullpen.

“I had free rein with the bullpen,” said Backman.” That’s the most important thing a manager can do.”

Backman basically handled the bullpen more like a major league manager than a manager in single-A, constantly seeking to get the most effective match-ups.

But Backman’s managing is more than tactics.

The thing that most people who don’t know Backman overlook is that he’s an affable guy who is well-liked by the players, fans, press, club officials, and just about everybody else. But being down to earth and friendly doesn’t make for headlines or exciting footage for reality television, so Backman’s reputation is focused more on his feistiness, and less on the daily leadership that he exhibits.

And according to Backman, the key to that day-to-day managing is not temper, but communication.

“Communication is one of the most important things on a baseball team,” states Backman. “How to keep twenty-five guys happy – or in the case with this team, thirty guys. In the minor leagues that’s tough, because they know if they’re don’t play what’s going to happen to their careers.”

“My door is always open to my players.”

As Backman spoke in his office, almost on cue, third baseman Joe Bonfe entered to ask Backman to sign some items for Bonfe’s friends.

After Bonfe left, Backman noted that the odds on players making it to the majors from the Cyclones are tough.

“If six players from this team have a true major league career, that’s a lot.”
Maybe some players that I think will make it won’t reach the majors. And maybe some that I think won’t make it will.”

How did Backman feel about his own chances as a player when he first signed a pro contract?

“I never doubted that I would play in the major leagues,” said Backman matter-of-factly. “And I hope the thirty guys in that room [the clubhouse] feel the same way.”

The players’ confidence about their chances to make the majors must have soared after their season under Backman as they uniformly say they were greatly helped by Backman’s leadership.

“Working with Wally was a lot of fun,” said right fielder Greg Vaughn.

“He’s real intense; he has a lot of fire, but he found ways to make you enjoy it – to just look forward to going on the baseball field.”

Darrell Ceciliani, who won one of the Mets’ 2010 Sterling Awards – given for minor league excellence, – as the Cyclones’ representative, also raved about Backman.

“It’s been a great year playing under Wally. I’ve learned about as much as a player can learn in one year,” praised the center fielder. “He taught me how to play the game, and how to take advantage of my speed.

“We have a great relationship and I’m sure we’re going to carry it over to the off-season. He lives only about a town away from me [in Oregon], and I’m sure we’ll work together after we get home.”

After the final play-off game, Backman did select a few players that he feels will make the big leagues.

“I think Ceciliani, if he doesn’t get hurt, as a good chance. So does Vaughn, and also [Ryan] Frazer (a reliever with a 0.52 ERA in 16 games).

With home runs down in the majors, Backman style of small ball could be just what’s needed in the big leagues. It certainly worked for Brooklyn.

Bonfe had 12 bunt hits for Brooklyn and Ceciliani added 9, high totals for a team that plays only 76 games. In addition Brooklyn stole 84 bases, tied for third in the league, and had 60 sacrifice bunts, second in the league.

Despite all the success of the regular season, Backman was deeply disappointed that the Cyclones lost the play-off finals 2-0 in games to Tri-City after a final game in which the Cyclones made three errors and several mental mistakes.

After the Valley Cats swept the series with their 5-1 win on September 14, Backman held court for the media in his office.

“I take losing personal,” he reminded reporters. “I hate losing. I’m proud of my players, but they have to learn from this loss. They have to learn how to better prepare themselves for each play. Maybe losing this game will ultimately be a good thing for them if it teaches them how to better prepare to win, and it helps them to reach their goal – to make the big leagues.

“I told them to remember how they feel after losing tonight so that they never have to feel that way again.”

Backman was asked to discuss his managerial future.

“As of today, I don’t know if I even have a job for next year,” he said with a wink
and a smile.

“Right now, I’m going back to Oregon and go fishing – in the ocean.”

In view of Backman’s successful comeback, he could be the one who’s quite the catch. Perhaps the Mets, and maybe some other club, will soon come fishing for him.

Ed Shakespeare has covered the Brooklyn Cyclones since their inaugural season of 2001 for a variety of publications, including the Brooklyn Paper and Gotham Baseball. He is the author of “When Baseball Returned To Brooklyn: The Inaugural Season of the New York–Penn League Cyclones”. He is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, has seen the Dodgers play at Ebbets Field. He has also written for the theater and on baseball for children. He lives in Lavallette, New Jersey.

In front of a sold out crowd at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark the Brooklyn Cyclones came from behind to earn a season series split with the Staten Island Yankees.

The Cyclones were the first to get on the board plating four runs in the first inning off of Yankees starter Mike Gipson.  After Darrell Ceciliani grounded out to second Wilfredo Tovar singled to short, stole second before Jeff Flah singled.  Jon Bonfe then sent a fly ball to left for an RBI single before J.B. Brown cleared the bases with a three-run homerun.

Gipson went two and two-third inning allowing four runs on four hits and walk while striking out four of the fourteen batters he faced.  He was relieved by Richard Martinez who went an inning and a third striking out three.

In the bottom of the third the Baby Bombers took advantage of some bad Brooklyn fielding to take the lead.  Kelvin Duran started it off with his first base hit with the Staten Island Yankees, a double to center.  He came around to score when Shane Brown singled to right and then advance to third on a throwing error by the right fielder.  Brown then scored when Casey Stevenson singled before Kelvin De Leon struck out.  Kyle Roller then reached on a failed force attempt when the shortstop committed a throwing error that allowed Stevenson to be face at second.  Newcomer Gary Sanchez then got his first base hit and RBI for Staten Island with a single that goes up the middle and bringing home Stevenson.  New third baseman Rob Segedin then double to center for his first Staten Island Yankees hit and RBI, scoring Kyle Roller while Gary Sanchez moved to third on the play.  Sanchez then scored the go ahead run when Luis Parache grounded out to the second baseman.

Daniel Burawa made his professional debut, the right-hander out of St. John’s University threw a shutout inning in relief allowing just a walk before Bryant Cotton took over on the hill.

Brooklyn would tie it up and take the lead in the top of the seventh inning.  James Schroeder started it off with a fly ball single to left and then went to third on a double to left by Darrell Ceciliani.  Bother would come around to score when Wilfredo Tovar singled to right field, giving the Cyclones a 6-5 lead.

Cotton was touched for just those two runs on four hits and a walk.  He struck out two of the ten batters he faced.  Andrew Shive took over for the eighth inning pitching a perfect inning in relief before allowing a run in the ninth on a hit and two walks.

Casey Stevenson led off the ninth inning for the Baby Bombers and on the fourth pitch he saw he launched the ball to the right of the Richmond County Bank Ballpark batter’s eye for a homerun.  After Kelvin De Leon popped up to the catcher before Kyle Roller worked a walk on five pitches.  Designated hitter Gary Sanchez struck out on a check swing before Rob Segedin grounded out to second to end the game.

Bryant Cotton took the loss for the Staten Island Yankees while Brooklyn pitcher Wesley Wrenn earned the win.  Friday night Staten Island travels up to Connecticut to face off with the Connecticut Tigers in a three-game series.  Zachary Varce, Shane Greene and Mikey O’Brien are expected to make the starts in that series.

On August 17, 2010 the top players from around the New York-Penn League will be diverging on the Richmond County Bank Ballpark in St. George for the sixth annual NY-Penn League All-Star Game.  Heading the game will be five Staten Island Yankees, eight Brooklyn Cyclones and their respective coaching staffs will head the American and National League squads.

For the Brooklyn Cyclones left-handed pitcher Angel Cuan along with right-handers Yohan Almonte and Ryan Fraser will represent the Baby Bum’s pitching staff while first baseman Jeff Flagg, third baseman Joe Bonfe, shortstop Rylan Sandoval along with outfielder Darrell Ceciliani and Cory Vaughn will round out the Brooklyn representatives.

The Staten Island Yankees will be sending three pitches and two position players.  The Baby Bomber ace Mikey O’Brien along with right-handed relievers Preston Claiborne and Chase Whitley will be on the American League pitching staff while shortstop Jose Mojica and outfielder Eduardo Sosa will represent the Yankee position players.

All-Star Game festivities start off the night before with a VIP meet and greet at the St. George Theatre and then move to the Richmond County Bank Ballpark the next day for batting practice, homerun derby and the game.

“I love it, I really do,” that is how right-handed pitcher Mikey O’Brien responded when asked if he is enjoying the 2010 season.  “Especially being a part of the Yankees organization and playing in New York,” he added.

The New York Yankees drafted O’Brien in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of Hidden Valley, HS in Roanoke Virginia.  Since signing the young righty made his professional debut down in Tampa with the Gulf Coast League Yankees.

In 2009 it looked like he was going to be in the rotation for the Gulf Coast Yankees at the beginning of the season but a broken hand pushed back his development.  “I was hoping to be in the starting rotation this June,” said O’Brien last June, “but I broke a bone in my pitching hand in a game and I won’t start throwing again until June [2009]”

After two seasons in the Gulf Coast League, putting together a record of 3 and 5 in 17 games Mikey O’Brien was promoted to Staten Island for the start of the 2010 Staten Island Yankees season and took his spot in the Baby Bombers rotation.

On June 20, 2010 O’Brien made his Staten Island Yankees debut starting the third game of the season against the rival Brooklyn Cyclones.  After coming off of two consecutive loses to the Cyclones O’Brien was set to give the Yankees their first victory.  That he did, throwing 81 pitches in seven innings allowing just an unearned run on two hits and a walk.  “I was just keeping everything down in the strike zone.  I mean that is the main key and what I always try to do and keep it down and get ahead in the count and throw strikes,” he said after the game.

Mikey O'Brien (Robert M Pimpsner/Gotham Baseball)

That was the start of a strong start of the season for the 20-year old that has put together strong outings in almost every one of his starts.  In his second game of the season the right-hander went six innings allowing just an earned run on seven hits against Aberdeen.  He then faced off against Aberdeen once again in Aberdeen again allowing just one earned run on five hits in five and a third innings and striking out five batters.

O’Brien faced off against the Auburn Doubleday’s in Auburn in his fourth start of the season and allowed two runs over six innings on six hits and a walk.  His fifth start of the season was his worst, allowing three runs on four hits and three walks across five innings against the Batavia Muckdogs.  Mikey rebounded in his sixth start throwing six shutout innings allowing four hits and two walks while striking out six batters when he and the Yankees traveled to Jamestown to face the Jammers.

Mikey O'Brien (Robert M Pimpsner/Gotham Baseball)

Mikey had is only real bad game of the year against the Hudson Valley Renegades on July 22 going just four innings and allowing four runs, three earned, on three hits and five walks.  “It’s going to happen to me sometimes,” he said talking about that start, “All my stuff have been all this year almost every outing except for that start.”  The struggling ended there as in his next start on July 28 he pitched six shutout innings against the Connecticut Tigers allowing four hits and two walks.

The young right-hander is a four-pitch pitcher possessing a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball to go along with his changeup and curveball.  “I am a lot more confident in all my pitches [the year],” he said.  “That’s the big key in pitching is having confidence.  After my first outing here I threw really well I had a bunch of confidence and it has carried over in every start.”

“I try to find a rhythm out there in the first or second inning and keep it going throughout the game.  Hitting is all about timing and pitching is about disrupting that timing.  I try to get in my rhythm and not let them get in their own”

The biggest adjustment this year for O’Brien has been consistency.  “Being consistent with everything [is my goal],” he said, “I go out there and try to keep all my pitches down even my fast ball and off-speed pitches.”

However that is not the only adjustment he had to make.  Before this season he has only pitched in front of a handful of people in the Gulf Coast League, which is much different than the thousands on the north shore of Staten Island.   “Getting to play in front of fans and not letting it get to you [has been an adjustment]”.

As we have past the half-way point in the season Mikey O’Brien has been the true ace of the Staten Island Yankees rotation and looks to continue the success he has achieved.

The Staten Island Yankees continued to struggle to bring runners home as they fell to the rival Brooklyn Cyclones 3-1 at MCU Park in Brooklyn.  The Baby Bombers left seven runners stranded on base and was just 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

Staten Island threatened first but was unable to get that big hit with runners on in the top of the third.  Casey Stevenson worked a walk then went to second on a ground out by Jeff Farnham.  After Garrison lined out to left Eduardo Sosa lined the ball into left field for a single and moving Stevenson over to third.  However after a long at bat and battle at the plate Shane Brown struck out swinging the pitch after fouling a ball off his hand.

Brooklyn plated the first three runs of the ballgame in their half of the third inning.  Juan Centeno doubled to center then went to third when Rylan Sandoval singled on a ground ball to center before scoring on a double by Darrell Ceciliani.  With two runners in scoring position Cory Vaugn sent the ball deep into center field for a sacrifice fly and bringing Ceciliani to third.  Jeff Flagg then sent the ball out to deep centerfield yet again for another sacrifice fly and giving the Cyclones a 3-0 lead.

The Baby Bombers plated their first and only run of the game in the top of the seventh inning.  Kelvin De Leon singled and went to second on a throwing error to lead off the inning.  After Kyle Roller grounded out to move him over to third Jose Mojica had a ground ball single to center to bring him home.

Staten Island Yankees Designated Hitter Kyle Roller was 2-for-4 in the game, raising his season batting average to .288.  Eduardo Sosa, Kelvin De Leon, Jose Mojica, Casey Stevenson and Garrison Lassiter had the other base hits for the Yankees.  Lassiter keeps his season average at the .333 mark and is batting .364 in his last ten games.

Yankees starter Zachary Varce was charged with the loss as he allowed three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three.  He was followed by Bryant Cotton who pitched an inning and a third innings without allowing a runner to reach base.  He stretched is scoreless streak to eight innings over five games.  Mike Recchia pitched a shutout eighth to lower his ERA to 2.65.

Sunday afternoon the Yankees and Cyclones will face off in the second and last game of this quick two-game series.  Shane Greene is expected to start for Staten Island.

In front of a crowd of 5,007 fans at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark the Staten Island Yankees fell to the Brooklyn Cyclones.  The theme of the night for the Baby Bombers was that they were unable to get things done with runners on base or in scoring position.

The Yankees hit a combined six hits off of the Brooklyn pitching and worked six walks but were just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left a total of nine runners on base.  Garrison Lassiter was the only one with a multi-hit game raising his season average to .321 with two hits.  Eduardo Sosa and Jose Mojica each had a double while Shane Brown and Luis Parache had a base hit.  The only Yankee RBI of the night belonged to Kevin Mahoney who got it on a ground out.

Staten Island plated their only run of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning.  Luis Parache singled to start it off then Eduardo Sosa walked.  After a pitching change Shane Brown laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners over for Kevin Mahoney who grounded out to second to plate Parache.

Baby Bomber starter Shane Greene took the loss, his third of the season.  He allowed two runs on three hits and six walks while striking out two over five innings.  He was followed by Manny Barreda who threw two shutout innings walking one and striking out two before Richard Martinez came in.  Martinez allowed a run on a hit and two walks while striking out one.  The Yankees pitchers held the Cyclones hitless for six innings after the second inning.

Tomorrow the Staten Island Yankees will enjoy a rare off day.  The Baby Bombers will spend the day up in the Bronx and take in the New York Yankees before taking the field Wednesday morning for an 11:00am camp day against the new Connecticut Tigers.