Recapping the Bluefish Opening Day Victory Over Rocker and the Ducks
Published on April 29, 2005 under Atlantic League (AtL)
Bridgeport Bluefish News Release
After appearing at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard with weatherman Paul Piorek of Channel 12 Cablevision in the wee hours of Thursday morning, and hearing him talk about the complete improbability of rain last night, I hope you can imagine my surprise when we got clobbered last night by that "rogue thunderstorm." In fact, the weather in the ballpark last night was as strange as I have seen there. We certainly never had to throw down as many sand bags on to the tarp to keep it from becoming a massive flying umbrella. And the fan who tried to mimic our erstwhile flaky pitcher Ron Frazier by doing running dives on to the tarp must have felt pretty stupid when (1) he bounced instead of slid across the tarp, and (2) when he looked up and saw the meat hooks of our security guard, Jimmy Meszoros and Benji Labrador descend upon him.
The tribute to John Tartaglio was a great idea, even though we got upstaged a bit by Derek Jeter and Oprah Winfrey who feted John in a very special way at Yankee Stadium earlier in the day. The real challenge for us was how to keep the fans content while John inched his way back from New York in a limo during rush hour. Once John got here, and we actually got him out on the field to throw out the first pitch as our 2,000,000th fan, it was one of the more special moments in the history of the Ballpark at Harbor Yard.
Of course, it was less than one full inning later that the freak storm hit us, and we knew we were in for a very long night. Because of the special tribute to John Tartaglio, we had many new fans in the ballpark that simply had never been there before. And it was a shame to have them have to scurry for cover when the heavens opened up. Even though we all know that spring weather in New England can be extraordinarily unpredictable. We just have to keep telling ourselves that fairer, warmer days are ahead of us.
How about the Ducks' Chris Latham hitting Pat Ahearne's first pitch off the right-centerfield wall for a booming triple? What a way to start the season and renew a rivalry against our arch-rival. Seemed like a bad omen at the time, but, as Charlie Dowd, has said, we have a pretty special little ball team this year. Only six hits the whole evening, but Ahearne was exceptional, and we played great defense. Espada's bunt hit reminded everyone of how Espada at his best is something to behold. Timely hitting from Brady Williams and D.J. Boston enabled us to capitalize on opportunities we did have to score, and how comforting was it to see Michael Coleman unleash a mammoth home run to dead centerfield? Our relief pitching left something to be desired, but remember that Brian Warren and T. J. Mathews haven't even arrived in Bridgeport yet.
And what a storybook ending against John Rocker! We're not even sure why they brought him into a tie game on the road, but credit our hitters for being patient. None of those four walks were automatic (unless you count the ill-advised decision to walk Gann intentionally and Coleman semi-intentionally). Our position player of the game had to be Corey Hart who had five productive at bats last night, with two hits, two walks and an out that advanced a runner to third who scored. And his diving stop of a grounder up the middle clearly saved a run. There's an old saying that teams that are strong up the middle win championships. We certainly appear to be that this year!
Do you realize that we were on the front page of Yahoo.com? That sure hasn't ever happened before. Most of the coverage was of John Rocker, but our own Corey Hart and Will Pennyfeather were mentioned as well. Meanwhile, the printed and electronic media have given us simply outstanding coverage the past few days. And it's certainly nice to have folks talking about the Bridgeport Bluefish without referring to our financial status.
Are you aware that the city of Norwalk, CT was sued by a softball player this week who slipped and fell on a muddy home plate, and injured his knee, requiring surgery. Great comment form the city's attorney: "Baseball and softball are American institutions. It shows how far down the legal system has gone when somebody who is playing the American pastime files a lawsuit for slipping on home plate. This case is more pathetic than the woman who dropped a finger in the Wendy's chili."
A few e-mails we've received today: "I would like to congratulate you and the team for winning another Opening Day game. I also would like to acknowledge the class the Long Island Ducks' players and manager displayed when John Tartaglio was walking to the mound. They all stood up and clapped continuously. It was a very moving experience. John has so much courage, and I know God has big plans for him in the future. Go Bluefish!!!!"
"Congratulations on opening day!!! Here's to a great season! Saw the rainbow picture in the paper..... I'd say that a rainbow arching over the field on opening day is a great sign!
"I wound up walking around a lot staying warm and enjoying the people and admiring all aspects of the stadium. I even got into some good conversations with groups of people at different locations in between innings. From the parking attendants to the cook over the hamburger grill, I was impressed with people's friendly attitude. Imagine getting a made to order cheese and bacon, lettuce and tomato burger made right in front of you [no pre-packaged burger here!]. Crazy weather, a beautiful rainbow and a BIG WIN in the opener".
Here's an excerpt of what the New York Post had to say about last night: "John Rocker's stint with the Long Island Ducks got off to a rocky start last night when he walked in the winning run in a 4-3 loss to the Bridgeport Bluefish. The former Atlanta Braves closer entered the game with the score tied 3-3. He got the first batter he faced to pop out, but things went downhill from there. He walked four of the next five batters he faced, threw two wild pitches and struck out one batter. Rocker threw 31 pitches on a frigid night and struggled with his control. Only about 50-60 of the 4,061 fans at the game were still there when Rocker entered the game. He was greeted with boos." Editor's note: Granted, there were few fans there at the end, but it was after 11:00 PM and below 50 degrees on a week night.
Atlantic League Stories from April 29, 2005
- Bears bats bludgeon Surf - Atlantic City Surf
- Patriots hand Barnstormers first ever loss - Somerset Patriots
- Bridgeport Bluefish Shutout Long Island Ducks, 5-0 - Bridgeport Bluefish
- Recapping the Bluefish Opening Day Victory Over Rocker and the Ducks - Bridgeport Bluefish
- Barnstormers Era Off With A Bang - Lancaster Stormers
- Bluefish hold on to beat Ducks, 4-3 - Bridgeport Bluefish
- Bears down Surf behind Gannon's knuckeball - Atlantic City Surf
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
