Disappointing Opening Night
by Mike Ashmore
May 10, 2007 - Democrat

It was as if the 2006 Patriots came back to play in the 2007 home opener. The faces were different, but the results were the same.

In the Patriots 61 losses last season, they scored 171 runs -- an average of just 2.80 a game. It made the games very predictable, as Somerset seemed doomed if they couldn't muster more than three runs.

Scoring zero runs, however, is something that no team can overcome no matter how good the pitching is, and that was very evident in the Patriots 1-0 loss to the Newark Bears on Friday night.

Dave Elder, who headed into Spring Training penciled in as the team's closer, ended up taking the mound as the Opening Night starter. The former Indians hurler spun six masterful innings, allowing just a double to Bears second baseman Javier Colina.

But Newark starter Carlos Mirabal was up to the task as well, scattering four hits through five innings of work before giving way to former Yankees farmhand R.J. Swindle, one of two lefties in the Bears bullpen.

Brian Reith, scheduled to get the start against the Road Warriors in Somerset on Tuesday, relieved Elder in the seventh inning and gave up the only other hit of the game. Unfortunately, former Patriot Victor Rodriguez deposited it about 375 feet away, high off of the McDonald's sign in left-center field.

Swindle got the win in relief, keeping Patriots batters off balance for an inning and a third with a combination of a virtually unhittable curveball that crosses the plate at around 50 miles per hour and a fastball that barely cracks 80.

"I'll throw it any time, because it's a really tough pitch to wait back on," Swindle said. "If I throw a fastball on the next pitch, it looks like it's coming at 95 instead of 81."

Jason DiAngelo came in to shut the door, and he picked up his first save of the season.

The Patriots saw 7,132 fans pass through the turnstiles, a new home opener record for them.

Patriots Notes: Somerset got more bad news after the game, when they lost outfielder Noah Hall to the New York Yankees organization.

Hall, one of only two Patriots with multiple hits in the game, was assigned to Double-A Trenton.

Team speed was one of the keys to Somerset's potential success this year, so Hall's loss will be felt immediately.

"(It hurts) pretty good, but we still have some guys that can run," said third baseman Jeff Nettles.

"He wasn't our leadoff hitter, he was our number five hitter. So even though he had speed, he wasn't in a speedy man's spot. Losing his experience is what's going to hurt us."

While the Patriots squeaked out a 3-2 win in the second game of the series, they were again shut out in the rubber game on Sunday, this time by a score of 4-0.

Ashmore's Daily Atlantic League Coverage: AtlanticLeagueBaseball.com

 

All media files and information are property of Mike Ashmore and may not be copied, transferred or used outside this web site without permission.  All media outlets are not affiliated with MikeAshmore.com in any way.  Site is best viewed using Microsoft Internet Explorer.