" I'm a few days late on this, but for those who haven't heard, Dennis Holmberg will be returning for his eighth season in Auburn this summer. I think this is a GREAT thing, not only of course, for the Doubledays, but this city as well. I can't think of many people more popular and loved here than him, and he has a rich history of success as well, with his average of 46 wins per season over the last seven.

Unfortunately, Antonio Caceres won't be making his fourth trip up here with Holmberg, as he has been promoted to Lansing. The promotion is well deserved, but Caceres will be missed. In his place will be Vince Horseman, who spent five years in the Major Leagues with Toronto, Oakland and Minnesota. He served as pitching coach for the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays last year.

Returning for his second season will be hitting coach Charlie Poe and for his third term in Auburn is trainer Dan McIntosh.

Eight more months until the NY-P season starts, and just about four until the Doubledays hot stove.

--KKW "

" I'm a little late on this entry, but this season was more than a little hard to watch. So tonight, it was determined that for the second straight year, the NY-P champ will be coming from the Pinckney Division. Jamestown vs. Batavia. Fans in Auburn might find this one hard to believe, especially since the Doubledays had the Jammers' number for most of the season.
Did the Doubledays underachieve? Probably. When this team played like it cared -- they dominated. Especially towards the end of the season, a lot of the players looked like they just wanted to go home. Not a great recipe for a team that has had so much success over the years. Dennis Holmberg, the coaching staff and the fans that filled the seats at Falcon Park deserved a lot more from this team this year.
Don't get me wrong -- there were a handful of bright spots -- the 18-3 win over Jamestown being one of them. But unfortunately, there were more dark moments this season.

--KKW "

" Say it isn't so. For the first time in my three summers spent at Falcon Park, my excitement over the start of the NFL season and the D-days in the playoffs will not be coinciding. I don't care how long you've been covering a team -- the postseason is always a more exciting atmosphere. Auburn will not be starting that September journey this year.
I've been trying to figure out what it is about this team that is different from all of Dennis Holmberg's other teams. Even when five of those last six teams lost in the playoffs, each team had it's own character and definition. This year has just been so unbelievably inconsistent in every aspect of the game that it was hard to get a feel for them.
I'll have more thoughts on this year after tomorrow night's home finale against the Scrappers.

--KKW "

" It's not looking good in Auburn right now. The Doubledays are struggling in just about every facett of the game, and that would be fine, natural even, if this was June or early July.
This doesn't look like a team poised to win a seventh straight Pinckney Division title, and it pains me to admit it. After blowing out Jamestown, Auburn has fallen apart at the seams. There is no consistent starting pitching despite the potential. The bats have fallen asleep at the wheel, as Dennis Holmberg would say, when it matters most. Home runs and big hits are awesome, but when they don't come in a bases-loaded, one or no out situation, they don't mean quite as much. This is a team that has struggled with identity all season -- I just hope a negative one isn't the imprint that is left on the season. Right now, they seem to be a team full of potential, ripe with great coaching, but completely void of "big timing it" when it counts.

-- KKW "

" "Sending a message"

Dennis Holmberg didn't necessarily think it was the case when the Doubledays cracked an 18-3 win over Jamestown tonight, but starter Josh Wells did. I tend to agree with Wells on this one, as the Doubledays made the first-place Jammers look like the last-place team they were last season. Jamestown surrendered 16 hits, 12 walks and made five errors -- not exactly the type of play from a team looking to win a division. Once again, the Doubledays look primed to pounce on yet another Pinckney title, but hopefully they can prove that again in Batavia on Thursday. Right now, they look like the team to beat.
Also, I've never met a more seemingly humble slugger than Adam Amar. I'm not sure I'd be as gracious if I just crushed my team's first grand slam of the year -- and my team leading eighth homer -- to put an exclamation mark on a fantastic offensive evening. Everyone played well tonight, don't get me wrong, but Amar continues to impress offensively.
The Doubledays have been known to score in bunches, but three innings with five or more runs? Ridiculous.
Kudos to both broadcaster Jordan Bernfield and official scorer Matt Collier tonight, also. Bernfield stayed listenable and informative throughout a seriously long game and Collier was able to sort out a contest that was a headache to try and keep track of.

If you can't make it out to Batavia on Wednesday for a gigantic doubleheader with the Muckdogs, take a trip east to Syracuse. Last season, Auburn was fortunate enough to have Brett Cecil on the mound for the entire season. One year later, he's made the jump to starting for the AAA Chiefs. He makes his second start for Syracuse, one that is sure to be better than his first. Speaking of former Doubledays -- The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (AA), which hosts handfuls of them (including JP Arencibia and Zach Dials) will be starting a three game set in Binghamton on Friday. It's a good week for minor league baseball in this area, take advantage of it!

-- KKW "