" Mother Nature has inconvenienced the Doubledays for the third time this week, but it could actually turn out to be a good thing for Auburn. The Doubledays were letting Williamsport get too close for comfort, with just a 7-6 lead after six full innings, maybe a breather will help them regroup. And who doesn't love almost 11 innings of baseball when the admission is free?

A couple of noteworthy transactions though, pitcher Dan O'Brien was promoted to Lansing yesterday, while Hunter Moody will be replacing him on the roster. Moody hails from Baton Rouge, LA and was drafted in the 35th round of the MLB draft this year. He was 3-0 with a 0.93 ERA in seven games with the GCL Blue Jays this season, so he should be a great addition for the Doubledays. "

" I'm a day late on this one, but there was a sad, but happy story to report during last night's rain cancellation. Doubledays starting pitcher Kyle Walter, who was with the team last season as well, decided to retire from baseball this week to pursue a teaching career in Louisiana. A pitcher that will now be missed from Auburn's rotation, ended his baseball career at age 24 (as of July 16) to go after another dream. It's not something you hear of that often in professional baseball, though it's not unheard of at this level of play. Good for Walter though, as he sets off into a new chapter in his life.

--KKW "

" Half of Falcon Park cleared out about a half inning too early tonight. With their last at-bats and the defensive performance in the top of the ninth, I do believe we've finally seen the Doubledays true character poke through.
Chris Hopkins continues to be quietly clutch, kicking off a three run bottom of the eighth to give Auburn the win and Justin Cryer broke out of his mound slump to get the dramatic save. Despite adverse situation after adverse situation, the desire and ability to pull out a win was definitely present.
Baseball doesn't get much better than that, expecially since it was free admission night.
Sure, we could ask for more explosiveness from the offense, but I still have a feeling it's going to come. There's too much talent and depth on this team for them to remain anemic at the plate much longer.
Another side note -- if you can't make it out to a game, be sure to check out Jordan Bernfield's broadcast on 1590 am (WAUB). When appropriate, he's wonderfully biting and always disgustingly informative. And by disgustingly, I mean amazing.

--KKW "

" "The Outfield"

Not only is it the 80's band that put out one of my favorite one-hit wonders of all time, but it is vastly becoming my favorite part of the Doubledays team this season. When I was watching the Doubledays beat up on Hudson Valley the other night on TW26, the announcers raved in surprise about a couple of diving catches made by Auburn's fantastic three (no matter which of the five outfielders are rotated in).
I then wondered what the shock in their voices was all about. When I heard them mispronounce the simplest of Doubleday players' and coaches' names (come on, Turkamani? Caceres? AMAR??), I understood -- they hadn't been watching this team at ALL this season. If they had, they would have seen the highlight reel catches that Bartolo Nicholas, Chris Demons, Chris Hopkins, Luis Rivera and Brian Van Kirk have been making this season. Tonight was no exception when Hopkins stole the show.
Interestingly enough, the one connection between the outfielders and some sensational Auburn pitching as of late is the Doubledays' least (publicly) recognized gem -- pitching coach Antonio Caceres. Caceres has not only been working the pitching staff back into form, but has been spending some time with the outfielders as well. He talked with Hopkins as recently as today on using the lower half of his body more in his long throws and it paid off in spades tonight.
Also of note -- Though only one ball came his way tonight, Rivera spent his first time this season in right field. Most of the outfielders could have napped while Joel Carreno struck out 11 in the first six frames. Bobby Bell continues to impress as well, earning his third save in his short time in Auburn (shorter than most of the players anyway -- since June 26). "

" Though the current Doubledays had a great night, pounding their way to a 9-4 win over Lowell, one former Doubleday had a rough afternoon.
Even as a Yankees fan, I took little pleasure in watching Jesse Litsch get pounded to the tune of seven hits and eight runs in the Blue Jays' loss to the Yankees by the same score that Auburn won by. Adam Lind started off well though, with an impressive three run triple in the first that gave the Jays' their only lead.
As a side note, D-days' shortstop Bryan Kervin is spending the weekend in sunny Syracuse. He didn't see any time in the Chiefs' 9-5 loss to Lehigh Valley, but since he's there for emergency purposes only, it's not that big of a shock. Hopefully, when he returns to Auburn on Monday, the Doubledays will be in a position to sweep the Spinners.

--KKW "

" When I woke up this morning and turned on SportsCenter, they were teasing yet another tirade from a minor league baseball manager. Immediately, I hoped that it wasn't Dennis Holmberg. Thankfully, it was Kash Beauchamp, manager for the Wichita Wingnuts, out of the independent league, but I don't think many people would have blamed Holmberg if it was him who was throwing his shoes around. The Doubledays have now dropped five straight, to an Aberdeen team that started the series with a worse record than Auburn. Not only will they have been swept in the last two series, but the Doubledays will drop to .500 for the first time this season if they lose tonight. What is especially troubling is that they're not losing close games, not since Staten Island last weekend anyway. They've spotted Aberdeen seven and six runs in the first two innings in the last couple of games -- completely uncharacteristic. Doubledays' starting pitchers have faltered big time over the last few games, which is the opposite of how they were faring in the first two weeks of the summer. Not only that, but the bats have seemed to fall asleep at the wheel all the way around. Auburn has put up just nine runs over the losing streak. State College, who has the worst record in the NY-P and also has a five game losing streak, has scored 13 over the same time frame.
It feels inevitable that the Doubledays can turn the season around. Lets just hope that it starts tonight. They've got Lowell (11-12) at home this weekend. The Spinners are in danger of losing their series with Batavia tonight, but like the Doubledays, the Muckdogs are currently four behind Jamestown -- who is in first place in the division.
A couple of random updates on former Doubledays -- David Cooper is playing well for Lansing. In two games so far, the first baseman has hit 3-for-7 with an RBI. In Class A Dunedin, Adam Calderone is batting .290 with four home runs and 19 RBIs. Last night, he went 3-for-5, with three triples in a 9-1 Blue Jays' win. Lastly, in Class AA, Brett Cecil has racked up a 4-2 record with a 2.86 ERA in New Hampshire.

-- KKW "

" It's not looking good, but if there's something a Dennis Holmberg-coached Doubledays team can do, it's turn things around.
There was a 10 minute, closed door team meeting following the 4-2 loss to Staten island in the home team's clubhouse. No word on what was discussed, but I'd guess that it surely had to involve the lackluster performance by the team over the last few days. I'd also expect that Tuesday's scheduled "day off" will include some sort of practice. Hopefully Auburn will be able to turn the tide in Aberdeen later this week.
Also, as a side observation, even with David Cooper's 0-for-4 performance on Monday, I'm not sure if the Blue Jays first rounder will be playing in Auburn much longer. He has become one of the Doubleday's hottest hitters, with an 11 game hit streak before tonight's game and there is not much chance that Auburn fans will get as lucky as last season, when standouts like Brett Cecil and JP Arencibia hung around all summer. It's been a guessing game (for me at least), through the first 21 games, just how long Copper will remain with the Doubledays.

-- KKW "

" So maybe I jinxed the Doubledays a little bit since my last post -- they've since lost two winable games to Mahoning Valley, who looked terrible in the first game of the series. I think the character and talent of this year's team is beginning to peak through, but hasn't fully emerged yet. I also think that the last two games full of errors are the exception, not the rule for a team managed by Dennis Holmberg. Hopefully Auburn can get back on track tonight against State College.
Also of note -- Liverpool and SUNY Cortland standout Jimmy Dougher finished his short stint in Auburn tonight. He was called up to Lansing after the game, along with Brian Letko, who made his only appearance with Auburn on Tuesday night, and Frank Gailey. It was great seeing an area player flourish in his first couple of professional appearances and hopefully, he'll do the same with the Lugnuts.

-- KKW "

" "It's a little bit of a family affair here," Dennis Holmberg said after the Doubledays' 6-1 drubbing of Mahoning Valley on Monday night.
That much is obvious. This team is playing like it's late August and the division title is already theirs. Just three errors in seven games (while opponents have racked up 20) is pretty impressive for the season being less than a week old.
While he is just one of many bright spots offensively, Bartolo Nicholas continues to belt them out -- Auburn has yet to lose when he's in the lineup. Nicholas missed just one full game after being hit in the face with a pitch last Thursday night.
It's a shame that just over 1,100 fans came out for tonight's game -- who knows how long Jimmy Dougher will remain in Auburn after another solid outing. With the best pitching staff in the NY-P, any number of guys could be getting called up soon. Enjoy them while they're here. "

" Some musings from the last three games:
Outfielder Jonathan Baksh's return to Auburn lasted just one game as he was called back up to Class A Lansing late Wednesday night after not playing in Batavia. That's great news for the Canadian, who struggled with the Lugnuts last season and was assigned with the Doubledays after a tough extended spring training.
On another note, Bartolo Nicolas should miss a few games with a swollen mouth after being hit in the face Thursday night. Syracuse's Greg Brown unintentionally let a fastball get away from him, surprising Nicolas -- who was having a good night at the plate.
Lastly, eventually we'll find out whether the Doubledays are this good -- or if Batavia is just that bad. Maybe not in this State College series though. The Spikes are 0-2 after losing their opening series with Jamestown, who finished last in the NY-P last season.
Make sure to check out 1590 AM on your radio (or online) when the Doubledays are away -- Jordan Bernfield is doing a great job doubling as color and play-by-play guy.
--KKW "

" Less than 3.5 hours until the unofficial summer in Auburn begins. It was just about nine months ago that some of us were in Brooklyn to witness one of the greatest accomplishments in Auburn baseball history, so it will be really interesting to see what identity this season's team will have.
Hopefully, the season won't be delayed by rain for the second straight opener -- it's always a good ballgame when the thruway rivals come to town. Get to Falcon Park early -- it's a safe bet that the bleachers, and those new blue seats, will be filled to see the defending champs.

--KKW "