RSS Feed
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
Fowl Ball!
The crack of a ball off the bat. The thud of a ball landing in a glove. These sounds rose above the music blasting out of Citibank Park's sound system as the Long Island Ducks took part in their final team workout and practice before opening night. A bunch of players were stretching or jogging in the outfield, some were throwing a ball around the infield, while others lined up behind home plate to take their turn in the batting cage. The winter is now a distant memory because Suffolk County's favorite baseball team is back and ready to start their eighth season of play in the Atlantic League. The new year has brought changes on just about every level for the team. Coaches, management, the players; all have gone through a major restructuring during the off-season. Even a completely new playing field has been installed for the first time since the park opened in 2000. The most noticeable difference, however, would probably be in the dugout, where long-time manager Don McCormack has stepped down allowing his good friend, and former Ducks pitching coach, Dave Lapoint to return to Long Island as the team's new manager. McCormack will remain with the staff as the team's third base/bench coach. "This change in position will give me a chance to work more closely with the individual players," says McCormack, "I have always enjoyed the teaching aspect of the game the most so now I can focus on that with Dave handling the details and the ingame decisions." In his six years as manager, McCormack led the team to its only championship in 2004 and posted more than 400 wins combining the regular season and playoffs. As for Lapoint, the former New York Yankee and St. Louis Cardinal is thrilled to be back on Long Island after a one year stop in Bridgeport as manager of the rival Bluefish. "It's great because I feel like I am coming home," Lapoint says, "My wife is from Long Island and we loved our time here when I was pitching coach so to come back now as manager of the Ducks is pretty much everything I could wish for." Ducks co-owner and first base coach, Bud Harrelson is just as excited about Lapoint coming back. "Dave, Don [McCormack] and I are the best of friends and we love working together," says Harrelson, "I know the pitchers love Dave and don't forget he went to Bridgeport last season and was manager of the year so it is great that we are all back together again." Lapoint and new general manager Michael Pfaff wasted little time before making a splash and signing two big names with a ton of major league experience. Outfielder Carl Everett and third baseman Edgardo Alfonzo are the type of players which will draw big crowds to Citibank Park as if the Ducks had any problem at the box office to begin with. "You learn something every time you manage and what I learned from last year is that you want guys who are good in the clubhouse," says manager Dave Lapoint, "For that reason, Carl and Fonzie are just the kind of player we were looking for." Obviously Everett and Alfonzo are ultimately hoping for a chance to get back to the majors but that does not mean they will take their time on Long Island for granted. "I play to win no matter what, whether it is a pickup game with my kids or on a major league field, I always have the mindset of playing my hardest," says Everett, "So I am not here to prove myself because I know what I can do, I just want to enjoy playing baseball." Alfonzo is just hoping he has finally put his recent injury problems behind him. "I am very happy to be here on Long Island and I see this as a great opportunity to once again play in front of the New Y o r k fans," says Alfonzo, "It is very nice to be so close to home but now I just want to prove to everyone as well as myself that I am healthy and show that I can still play." Alfonzo and Everett, two former Mets, are sure to be big hits not only on the field but also with the local fans. However, manager Dave Lapoint warns against becoming too attached to any particular player. "With the talent we have up and down our roster, it is almost guaranteed we will lose a few guys in the first couple of weeks," says Lapoint. The talented roster consists of just six players returning from last year's squad (pitchers Pat Ahearne, Todd Erdos, and Kevin Tolar, infielders Ray Navarrete and Massapequa Park native Rob Cafiero, and outfielder Kevin Haverbusch of Massepequa). In addition, there are also two former Ducks who have rejoined the team for this season (Pete Rose, Jr. and Donovan Osborne), but as a whole, a large majority of the roster is made up of new faces who the fans will get to know over the upcoming weeks. One of these newcomers would play a large part the very next day in the Ducks opening night win over Camden. Shortstop Derek Wathan has been asked to take over the leadoff spot in the lineup which was vacated by the departure of Mel Stocker, and although he cannot be expected to put up the kind of speed numbers which Stocker posted last season, Wathan did not disappoint with his play both in the field and at the plate on this night. The 30-year-old shortstop made two amazing catches in the field and added a home run, the Ducks' first of the season, as well as a triple at the plate to lead Long Island to a 9-6 win in the opener. "It was great to be out there and play well in my first game here," said Wathan, "The place was packed and I can already tell the crowd here appreciates the game, so add to that the fact that we won and it was a really fun night." Extra Innings:
West Babylon native and former Ducks outfielder Justin Davies recently became the first Ducks player to be elected to the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame. Davies spent six years with the Ducks and retired before the start of last season. He is the alltime franchise leader in hits, runs scored, stolen bases, games played and at-bats. "For a kid that grew up, played high school baseball and finished his career in Suffolk County, this means everything," said Davies. "It gives me a great sense of accomplishment about everything I've done both on and off the field." Davies, a two time Atlantic League all-star, was officially inducted into the hall at a special ceremony and dinner held at the West Lake Inn in Patchogue on Monday.
|
for larger version       |
|||||||||||||||||
