Cyclones 2010

[bmfc1]

"After the game, the bubbly was flowing � though it wasn�t traditional Champagne, but Kedem sparkling grape juice, a substitute that was either in honor of the Jewish New Year, which began just before first pitch, or the fact that several Cyclones are below the drinking age."

Tremendous. Love that they used Kedem.

[G-Fafif]

HahnSolo wrote: You know the Cyclones must be big in Brooklyn if they can get a guy named Gersh Kuntzman to come out last night.

Gersh used to write for the Post. He's making the most of his new gig.

�We played Tri-City well, so, yeah, I like the matchup,� the skipper said after the game, grape juice, sweat and charisma dripping off him in rivulets. �The guys are ready.�

That's so awful, it's fantastic.

[G-Fafif]

And with that charismatic post, I just became Wally Backman!

[Guest Edgy DC]

I wonder how many posts we should require for a guy to become Gersh Kuntzman.

[MFS62]

Now that we're talking about Backman and Forsythe, a little story.
There have been some comments about how Backman has had his players bunt early in games, and this was likened to Manuel's strategy.
Forsythe was a highly regarded draftee this year - a catcher who has the potential to become a power hitter.
Earlier this year, Forsythe got off to a bad start, and looked like he was just trying to meet the ball, taking what we used to call "pitty-pat" swings.
In a game a few weeks ago, Backman had Forsythe bunt in the third inning.
It must have gotten the message across "If you're going to swing like a weak hitter, you'll be treated like a weak hitter".
It apparently sunk in. Later in that game, Forsythe hit his first professional home run. And he's been hitting well ever since.

Backman used that bunt for both the situational as well as the long term effect.
To me, that shows a smart manager, trying figure out what will motivate a particular player and then doing it.
When I read about that, it made me want Wally as the next manager of the Mets.

Later

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

According to this recap, Wally wasted a leadoff double in the first inning on a bunt for a one-run lead his team promptly gave right back, then used his whole bullpen and hung on praying after his closer loaded the bases in the 9th.

Yeah, perfect Mets manager.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

MFS62 wrote: Now that we're talking about Backman and Forsythe, a little story. There have been some comments about how Backman has had his players bunt early in games, and this was likened to Manuel's strategy. Forsythe was a highly regarded draftee this year - a catcher who has the potential to become a power hitter. Earlier this year, Forsythe got off to a bad start, and looked like he was just trying to meet the ball, taking what we used to call "pitty-pat" swings. In a game a few weeks ago, Backman had Forsythe bunt in the third inning. It must have gotten the message across "If you're going to swing like a weak hitter, you'll be treated like a weak hitter". It apparently sunk in. Later in that game, Forsythe hit his first professional home run. And he's been hitting well ever since. Backman used that bunt for both the situational as well as the long term effect. To me, that shows a smart manager, trying figure out what will motivate a particular player and then doing it. When I read about that, it made me want Wally as the next manager of the Mets. Later

With all due respect... I'm not sure I can squint hard enough to read that message into Backman's having the guy bunt, much less attribute his "turnaround" to that particular Backmotivational "ploy."

Motivations aside, he likes to have the guys bunt. Maybe it's a teaching thing, maybe it's a play-the-game-the-right-way thing. If it's the latter, then it ignores the fact that he only found limited success playing that way, that he only played that way because he DIDN'T have superlative power or speed or batting eye, and that if Davey had sent up Strawberrys and Carters and McReynoldses to sac bunt at all, he would have been doing his teams a pretty big disservice.

[Guest Edgy DC]

1985 Mets, Sacrifices by non-pitchers:

Wally Backman: 14
Billy Beane: 0
Terry Blocker: 0
Larry Bowa: 1
Gary Carter: 0
Kelvin Chapman: 3
John Christensen: 1
Lenny Dykstra: 4
Ron Gardenhire: 2
George Foster: 0
Danny Heep: 0
Keith Hernandez: 0
Clint Hurdle: 1
Howard Johnson: 1
Ray Knight: 0
Tom Paciorek: 1
Ronn Reynolds: 2
Rafael Santana: 4
Rusty Staub: 0
Darryl Strawberry: 0
Mookie Wilson: 1

It is worth noting however, that Bucket was on the other side of this issue, having previously thought that Sacrifeisty Backman was perhaps using the bunt as a teaching tool in Brooklyn, but appears to have been converted to a a degree after witnessing (or reading about) his first-inning sacrifice of last night.

Also relevant is that this has long been considered a strategic dividing line between US baseball and its Nipponese cousin --- that Americans are more likely to play for the big inning while the Japanese tend to place a relatively bigger priority on scoring first.

[HahnSolo]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: According to this recap, Wally wasted a leadoff double in the first inning on a bunt for a one-run lead his team promptly gave right back, then used his whole bullpen and hung on praying after his closer loaded the bases in the 9th. Yeah, perfect Mets manager.

Looks like he actually waited till the bags were full to bring on his closer in the 9th.

Interesting he did not do the "I've got a less-than-three-run lead in the last inning, I've got to bring in my closer" thing, going against the grain, letting Bennett start the 9th after finishing the 8th, then even keeping him in for an additional hitter after loading the bases with nobody out. Maybe that was foolhardy to keep him in that long, but I appreciate not doing the knee-jerk closer thing at the start of the inning.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I was against using any tendencies in isolation in Brooklyn as a gage to what to expect, and above was only trying to point out how easy it was to do so, especially the reach with the catcher thing.

[HahnSolo]

On the Cyclones stat page, I count 51 credited sacrifices. Seems high in a short season, since it does not take into account botched sacrifice attempts or players who may have been moved up another slot in the organization.

[Guest Edgy DC]

bb-r.com shows 60 total: http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=41978

One other team in the NYPL had 66, and the next highest was 39. The league average was 31.

[G-Fafif]

The Boys of Backman fall in Game One.

[G-Fafif]

Game Two rained out, but Gersh Kuntzman is in the Eye of the Storm with his own take on the Game One loss.

Backman said he was disappointed that his team �showed up without much punch,� not getting a hit after the fourth. �I would have liked to see more �rah-rah-rah� out the guys, more standing on the top step than sitting on the bench,� he said. But Backman added he would not use the four-hour bus ride back to the Cyclones� Downtown Brooklyn dormitory to chew out his team. �There�s not a whole lot to say at this point in a season,� he said. �The bottom line is that we were outpitched tonight. And we made a big error on a double-play ball. That�s the difference in this game.�

[HahnSolo]

"Downtown Brooklyn dormitory"?

Is this prep school?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

HahnSolo wrote: "Downtown Brooklyn dormitory"? Is this prep school?

The alternative-- on their salaries-- is probably a motel in which your neighbors are only your neighbors an hour at a time. 20-year-old A-ball dudes aren't renting Park Slope sublets, man.

[HahnSolo]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: HahnSolo wrote: "Downtown Brooklyn dormitory"? Is this prep school? The alternative-- on their salaries-- is probably a motel in which your neighbors are only your neighbors an hour at a time. 20-year-old A-ball dudes aren't renting Park Slope sublets, man.

I realize most of them are not multi-million dollar high draft picks. I figured the team would help them find housing...but calling it a dormitory?

[Vic Sage]

my parents really wanted to rent out their basement to Cyclone players.
They passed away before they got the chance.

[Guest Edgy DC]

HahnSolo wrote: "Downtown Brooklyn dormitory"? Is this prep school?

I guess it has a lot in common.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Also, it's A ball. The oldsters here are, say, 24.

[G-Fafif]

It's wait 'til next year in Brooklyn once again as the Cyclones are eliminated. Gersh covers Wally pissedness.

�My guys were overwhelmed � and we didn�t look prepared,� Cyclones skipper Wally Backman told the Cyclones beat reporters in his post-game news conference, steps from the sad lockerroom. �Like we were improvising out there. �So, yeah, I�m pissed,� he added. �But they�ve got to learn this [losing] feeling themselves.�

Improv: Not as much fun as it sounds.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Here's Cartoon Gersh with a 3-D scoop from last week (check out the monsterous typo)

Backman meets Mets owner � to talk stadium renovations?! Come on! The Mets are in free fall. Everyone is speculating that Cyclones skipper Wally Backman is about to get the top job in Flushing. And sure enough, Mets owner Jeff Wilpon stops by MCU Park on Thursday night for a chat. And they talk about renovations to the stadium?! That�s the line that Backman tried to pass off on the cream of the Cyclones press corps � me � after Thursday night�s monsterous win over Vermont in Coney Island. We couldn�t help but notice Wilpon in the owner�s box at the Boardwalk bandbox all night, so when Backman held his nightly post-game interview, Wilpon�s shadowy presence was first and foremost on my mind. �Did you talk to Jeff about the Mets managing job?� I asked. Backman spat out an answer so quickly that it must have been rehearsed � but he stuttered just enough to make it seem that even he couldn�t swallow what he was saying. �No. No. He came in for some, uh (pause), um, they had to look at some structural stuff, I guess, for the stadium,� he said. I�d sooner buy that than I�d buy a bridge. So I pressed on, but Backman did, too, gesturing towards the Cyclones� spokesman Dave Campanaro. �Isn�t that what they came in here for?� he asked rhetorically of Campanaro, who gamely responded, �Yes.� �They really did,� Backman added. �They have to add some stuff. That�s what he was here for.� Add �some stuff�? To a 10-year-old stadium that looks like the day it was christened? �Doing something different, I guess, yeah,� Backman said. We moved onto other topics, but I couldn�t help thinking that we�re either going to see Wally Backman in a Met uniform soon, or Jeff Wilpon is going to add a third tier to a Class A ballpark. I�m betting that the Cyclones don�t need a 10,000-seat stadium � but we all know that the Mets need a new manager, right?