Crabs Drop Fourth Game in a Big Way, Series Tied at 2

After getting out to such a promising 2-0 lead in the series the Blue Crabs have seen that lead disappear with strong rallies by the Ducks.

Tonight's game got off to a very rough start, when in the bottom of the first, starter Ryan Bicondoa was roughed up for 5 runs. Despite the rough start he regained his power and kept the Ducks scoreless in the second and third before leaving the game with load bases in the fourth. He allowed 9 hits and would go on to allow 8 runs, 7 earned with 4 walks and two strike outs. Mike James saw his first action in the playoffs in the fourth, though I imagine he was hoping for a better result. Mike allowed two of his own runs to score in his 5 inning 4th (the other 3 belonging to Ryan) on 3 hits and a walk, he did however manage to get two outs. Matt Righter then came in to pitch the remainder of the 4th, as well as the complete fifth and into the sixth. He also allowed two earned runs on 3 hits with one strike out. Joe Gannon finished off the game going 2.2 innings, allowing 5 hits and 3 runs, only one of which was earned with walking and striking out one.

Offensively we barely ever got off the ground. We had a strong 4th where we nearly tied the game, getting 4 runs, however the game quickly got out of reach following the bottom of that inning. The highlight of the scoring was the 3 run bomb by Cesar Nicolas. However I think the most important run was scored in the 9th when we were down 15-4. Most teams would have given up by that point, but we didn't. We kept fighting, however impossible it may have seemed, but we kept fighting. That willingness to fight and to battle, is what I believe will see us through to the end, hoisting that championship cup high in the air at Regency Furniture Stadium.

The Blue Crabs take the Ducks on in a decisive game five, Tuesday after having Monday off for Yom Kippur. Should the Blue Crabs succeed in keeping the dream alive, they would play Thursday and Friday in Somerset, then come home for games 3-5 Saturday thru Sunday.

Crabs Drop Third Game, Makes Things Interesting

Despite getting out to an early 2-0 lead, the Crabs were unable to hold off the rallying Ducks.

John Ramistella led off the game with a double and moved to third on a sac bunt laid down by James Shanks. Rambo then scored on an infield single hit by Travis Garcia. With only one out, both Patrick Osborn and Cesar Nicolas would be walked to load the bases. Travis would then score on a sacrifice fly hit by Jeremy Owens. The Blue Crabs wouldn't score again until the 7th when John Ramistella blasted a 1 out home run to tie the game at 3. Travis would then double on what was called an error, and came in to score on a hard hit single by Cesar Nicolas to take the lead.

The lead however would be short lived as the Ducks took a commanding lead in the bottom of the 8th. Starter Keith Ramsey was not involved in the decision despite going 5 innings, allowing only 6 hits and 3 earned runs. Keith walked 2 batters, while striking out 4 and allowed a solo homerun. Matt Schweitzer pitched a beautiful 6th, sitting down the Ducks in order. Dane De La Rosa also pitched a gem in the 7th, sitting the Ducks down again in order with a strike out. The strings came unraveled however when Franklyn Gracesqui struggled through the 8th. Franklyn allowed 4 earned runs on only 3 hits and a walk. He would take the loss, his first since joining the Crabs. Big Mac Suzuki closed out the 8th, as Franklyn was unable to get an out before departing. Big Mac allowed two hits while striking out one.

The Blue Crabs look to come back strong from the loss last night, playing the Ducks Sunday at 3:05. Ryan Bicondoa will be making the start for the Crabs, and looks to lead the team to their first Championship Appearance in only their second year of play. Ryan who was the work horse of the team last season, finished this regular season with a 11-6 record and an ERA of 4.66. Ryan made 29 appearances including 3 in relief. He had 2 complete games through 164.1 innings of work, allowing 200 hits and 98 runs only 85 earned. Ryan hit 11 batters, and allowed 10 homeruns while striking out 89 and walking 58.

Blue Crabs Hold on to WIN

After getting out to an early 5-0 lead the Blue Crabs had to work hard to hold off the rallying Ducks.

The scoring got started early for the Crabs, getting 3 runs in the 3rd off the bats of John Ramistella and James Shanks. After a couple of singles, Rambo broke the scoreless affair with a single to drive in team captain Jeremy Owens. Not wanting to have a repeat of the night before, James Shanks then cleared the bases with a two-run triple scoring catcher Octavio Martinez and Rambo. We would add a couple more runs in the 5th when Jeremy would single to score Michael Tucker and James would add an additional RBI to his day, singling to score Cesar Nicolas.

The Blue Crabs pitching saw their consecutive scoreless innings come to an end in the top of the 6th, when starter Jarret Grube would give up a solo homerun. After giving up a double, Jarrett left the game after a beautiful 5.1 innings of work. Jarrett allowed only 4 hits, including the two earned runs, while striking out 8 and walking no one. Matt Schweitzer and Paul Estrada each pitched a third of an inning, Matt being perfect and Paul only sacrificing one hit. Dane De La Rosa pitched the 7th, allowing only one hit. Franklyn Gracesqui pitched the 8th allowing two hits while striking out two and gave up an unearned run. Big Mac Suzuki pitched the 9th allowing one unearned run on a walk and a strike out, getting his second save in as many nights.

Tomorrow Night the Blue Crabs look to take on the Ducks in game three of this five game series. The game will be played at 7:05 in Central Islip, New York.

Playoffs! Game 1 of the Divisionals Recap

Game one of the Blue Crabs playoffs was a nail bitter for sure, however the Crabs were able to hold on through 9 innings to their one - nothing and win. This early win brings the series to 1 games to none for the Blue Crabs over the Long Island Ducks.

John Halama got the start for the Blue Crabs, going 8 beautiful innings. John who had been playing with the AAA affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, scattered 4 hits while striking out 4 and walking no one. He allowed no runs to score, and got a first pitch strike on the first 5 batters he faced. New Comer Mac Suzuki pitched the ninth, facing 4 batters, striking out one and walking one. He also allowed no runs to score completing the team shut out.

The only run of the game came in the first inning, when with one out James Shanks had a broken bat double, the first hit of the game. After another out was recorded, Patrick Osborn stepped up to plate and stroked the first RBI in Blue Crabs playoff history, a one-two count single.

Patrick Osborn's RBI single in the bottom of the first.


Tonight the Blue Crabs face the Long Island Ducks at home again, and are looking to start Righty Jarrett Grube. Grube has a 3.36 ERA in 16 appearances, 12 of which were starts. He has a 3-1 record through 75.0 innings pitched. He has allowed 90 hits including 30 runs only 28 of which were earned. He has allowed 4 homeruns while hitting two batters. He has struck out 56 batters while walking only 21.

Roster Changes

In an attempt to make the team into a well oiled machine for the playoffs Manager Butch Hobson has added some new faces as well as reacquired some familiar faces. In order to make these changes easier for my readers I am going to post a full roster breaking the players into categories of people who have been here the majority of the year/came before September, reacquisition, new comers and inactive/disabled players.

Long Term Roster

Pitchers
Ryan Bicondoa
Dane De La Rosa
Paul Estrada
Joe Gannon
Jarrett Grube
Mike James
Matt Righter
Matt Schweitzer

Catchers
Lance Burkhart
Octavio Martinez

Infielders
Chuck Jeroloman
Mike Just
Patrick Osborn
Michael Tucker

Outfielders
Jeremy Owens
John Ramistella
James Shanks
Richard Giannotti

Recent Acquisitions/New Faces

Pitchers
Franklyn Gracesqui
Makato (Mac) Suzuki

Infielders
Cesar Nicolas

Outfielders
Brent Krause

Reacquisition

Pitchers
John Halama
Jason LaVorgna

Inactive/Disabled List

Pitchers
Randy Keisler (IA)
Jason Navarro (IA)
Keith Ramsey (IA)
Edward Rodriguez (DL)

Catchers
Dustin Spruill (IA)

Infielders
Trae Bailey (IA)
Anthony Perry (IA)
Ken Harvey (DL)

Hope This helps!

New faces and changing places

We have added a new face to the Blue Crabs in first baseman Cesar Nicolas who wears number 19. Returning to the Blue Crabs is short stop Travis Garcia back in his number 7 moving pitcher Jarrett Grube to number 11. Also we have added relief pitcher Jason Richardson who has been wearing number 35. And an outfielder has been added to our roster in number 10 Brent Krause.

Dustin Spruill, Anthony Perry, and Trae Bailey have all been moved to the inactive list.

Also Ken Harvey has been moved to the disabled list with some wrist soreness as evident by the way he's been taping it lately.