Bad baseball day all around for me. First, the Little League All Star team I’m coaching on lost 7-1 setting up an elimination game tonight. We played the team from South Shore Little League which is where the tournament was held. Our kids were a bit tight in the first inning with a couple of fielding miscues and our starter giving up a couple of extra base hits in the gap of left center to put us behind 3-0. I knew it wouldn’t be our day as I took my position in the third base coaches box and saw the home team had rigged an electrical line in order to use a fan in their dugout. The dugouts at this facility are narrow and cover from top to bottom in a chain link fence so add that with about 100 degree temps and me in long pants, I was one cranky coach.

From there we went home showered and changed and headed to St. George to watch the Brooklyn Cyclones take on the Staten Island Highlanders. The Brooklyn games are the only ones at Richmond County Ball Park that sell out as the fans from Brooklyn cough up the 10 bucks to cross the Verrazano Bridge and the transplanted Brooklynites like myself show up strong. The game was also Boy Scout night as Boy Scout troops from around the city were at the game and were allowed to sleep over on the outfield over night. My wife and kids and my in laws and niece and nephew all slept on the field while I retreated to the air conditioned comfort of my home. After throwing pre game BP and coaching a game the last thing I needed was to sleep on field with a bunch of kids running around all night. As my family arrive home at 7 AM (the woke up at 6AM) my wife was mad at me for not telling her the field is sloped. She slept like she was upside down. Best choice I made all day was sleeping at home.

As for the game, it was the second week in a row I saw Brad Holt pitch for the Cyclones and although he was not as dominating as the last start this young man will be on a fast track to Flushing. Holt K’d 7 in5 1/3 innings but his most impressive performance of the night was in the bottom of the 2^nd when he faced baseses loaded and one out and struck out the next two batters. LHP Roy Merritt came on in relief had looked like a lefty Joe Smith as he throws from the side and was very effective as well. Then Steve Clyne came on to protect a 2 run lead and gave up a game winning 3 run HR to Melky Mesa for a 5-4 SI win.

Then there were the Mets as they have now dropped two to the Reds and Carlos Beltran had a night to forget in the field and at bat as did Pedro Feliciano who gave up four big runs. How about J-Man pulling Endy Chavez for a pinch hitter in the 7^th ? This is the second time this week Warlord Jerry has done this first hitting Nick Evans for Endy and yesterday hitting Argenis Reyes Looks like Endy is not Gangsta’ enough J-Man.

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