[Archelirion]

JULY 2017

BEST RECORD - Rochester Union: 16-13 (now 69-42)
Queens Diamonds: 16-13 (now 68-43)
Manhattan Victory: 16-13 (now 60-51)
Syracuse Maples: 16-13 (now 57-54)
Staten Island Bulls: 16-13 (now 51-60)
Bronx Phoenix: 15-14 (now 47-64)
Buffalo Bruisers: 14-15 (now 49-62)
Yonkers Sixers: 14-15 (now 51-60)
Albany Dragons: 12-17 (now 50-61)
WORST RECORD - Brooklyn Knights: 10-19 (now 53-58)

1st July: July opened tentatively, as all but one game today was decided by more than one run – and two required extra innings to break the deadlock. A shutout from Yonkers pitcher John McCarthy was needed after RF Kenneth Aydell’s scrappy run was the only point scored in their 1-0 win over the Brooklyn Knights; Staten Island eventually overcame Bronx catcher Albert Lopez’s 2nd-inning, 2-man home run with an 8th-inning homer from Mike Alton, and finally an 11th-inning decider from Gary Kindle to wind things up at 3-2; Manhattan’s 5-4 victory over Buffalo was only decided in the 10th after Victory shortstop Matt Campbell hobbled round following his hit-by-pitch; and Queens LF Jonathan Parker gave the only real excitement in the Diamonds’ slow 2-1 victory over Rochester, in arguably today’s highest profile game.

The only exception to the ‘one run difference’ rule today was seen in Syracuse’s 9-4 victory over the Albany Dragons, which despite the Dragons having an excellent 2nd (3 runs, including an RBI double from Todd Morse and a 2-man homer from former Maples man 1B Matt Gilbert), was exemplified by Jonathan Claxton’s wonderful 3-man home run in the 6th for Syracuse and DeMond’s 2-RBI double in the 4th.

Finally, Manhattan’s streak-king Matt Campbell saw his run of hitting games ended in the aforementioned 5-4 win against Buffalo, as he was unable to find the ball in 3 at-bats. Victory manager Richard Perry was surprisingly upbeat, however, stating that “at least now he doesn’t have a trophy over his head, and he can just focus on playing good baseball.”

2nd July: Two pitcher related stories today: one bad, one good. The bad first, as Bronx started Pedro Alvarado herniated a disc in his back today during their 2-9 defeat to the Staten Island Bulls. Known primarily for his fastball, the 25-year-old looks set to miss at least 7 opportunities in the rotation, as physios have put him out for 5-6 weeks while his back recovers. “It’s been a frustrating year for him, partially as he’s not actually played badly,” said manager Josh Simpson. “He’s one of our top players and we’ll be looking forward to his return.” Alvarado currently sits on a 3.51 ERA with 83 strikeouts.

In brighter news, Moses Adams had a fantastic game for the Syracuse Maples, as he helped his side to a 4-0 victory over the struggling Albany Dragons – including only giving up a single hit, fanning 5, and walking 0. “I’ve been replaying that hit in my head a bit,” said the 26-year-old slider/changeup specialist, “but the boss has told me to not dwell on it. It was a great game.”

3rd July: Manhattan Victory were soundly beaten at Rochester’s Irondequoit Grounds today, as the first game of their 3-game series finished 17-6 in the Union’s favour. “The rain break in the 3rd really hurt us,” said Victory manager Richard Perry afterwards. “Phil [Gesch, LF] managed to get us on equal footing immediately afterwards, but we absolutely fell to bits in the bottom 4th. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many singles in an inning.” Rochester scored 7 in the 4th, amazingly all from singles and BB calls, followed by a 2-man homer from Schmeling in the 5th and 2-man RBIs from both Schmeling and Curtis Walden in the 7th.

In other news, despite Bill Williams pulling out a masterful 3-man homer in the 9th to keep Brooklyn in it, the Staten Island Bulls claimed a 12-inning, 7-6 victory over the Knights. “I did all I could today,” said the 31-year-old LF from the borough, who managed 4 RBIs in total, “but sometimes the chips just fall all wrong.” The deciding factor was solo home run from Bulls CF Chris Meche, only his 4th of the year.

Finally, Queens heavy-hitter Justin Stenke earned a well-deserved Player of the Week award for this week, for his part in the Diamonds’ 6-1 week comprising of a 0.423 batting average, 2 home runs and 6 RBIs. Speaking to assorted press, the $5m-a-year third-baseman said “well this was a great thing to wake up to! It’s been a good week, and I’m so proud of our team keeping Rochester honest!”



4th July: Staten Island are rapidly becoming Brooklyn’s least favourite team, after another extra-innings defeat for the Knights against the Bulls ending 9-8 in the 10th. A great 3rd for the Knights, seeing a 3-man homer for Harry Jolly, and RBI doubles for both Victor Juarez and AAA-man Cortez Martinez, gave the side a 5-0 lead early on, but gritty gap-hitting from C Kyler Dagenais, LF Gary Kindle and CF Chris Meche meant that the game tied at 6-6 by the 7th. Brooklyn hit back in the 8th with another 2 runs, only for Kindle to knock a 2-man homer out in the bottom 9th, followed by a match-winning solo home run from Dagenais in the 10th. “We pulled it together superbly today” said the 30-year-old catcher, voted MVP. Dagenais is currently sitting on a 0.226 with 4 home runs this season.

Meanwhile, despite a spirited display from Buffalo’s LF Juan Elizondo and RF Synan Sheehan to claim back 2 runs in the 9th, the 3 scored earlier in the innings by C Chris Berrios’ home run and decent contact hitting saw the Yonkers Sixers claim a thrilling 6-5 victory over the Buffalo Bruisers.

5th July: Staten Island did it again! Despite home runs from 3B Harry Jolly and LF Bill Williams, it was a plucky bottom-9th run from the Bulls’ Gary Kindle that handed the island side their 4-3 victory – and importantly, a series shutout – against Brooklyn’s Knights. “I’m glad to be leaving Staten Island,” said Brooklyn manager Jon Aguirre, now 6 games without a win. “We don’t play them again until the start of August, at which point we’ll have to be out for blood.”

6th July: Rochester Union star Keith Schmeling hit home run #30 today this season, but he left the game under a raincloud following his team’s 11-5 defeat to the Yonkers Sixers today. “I knew it was on the cards today, and I’m happy to have hit 30” the 31-year-old said after the game, “but Vicente Salazar’s loaded-base home run completely buried us. Once I saw four men crossing the plate I knew our chances of victory were almost gone.” Salazar’s hit was home run #11 for him, and got him up to 38 RBIs.

Excellent pitching performances from Syracuse’s Evan Everett and Brooklyn’s Mike Moore meant that it took us 12 innings to even see a run scored today in the Maples v Knights match-up – and Jon Aguirre undoubtedly breathed a sigh of relief, as it was Knights RF Koshi Matsumoto who delivered the goods with a solo home run. “It took a long time and yeah, we looked shaky out there today, but I think we’re all very grateful to Koshi for getting us in the green again.”

8th July: Errors from reliever Josh Barata and RF Synan Sheehan cost Buffalo dearly, as the Staten Island Bulls claimed yet another bottom-9th scalp in today’s 6-5 defeat for the Bruisers. Despite only hitting one double all game (courtesy of Mike Alton in the 9th) the island side were able to find 12 hits today, and notably 3 runs in the final two innings to come back from 5-3 down at the start of the 8th. “It’s pretty stressful being a Bulls fan at the moment!” one fan was heard saying after the game.

The Yonkers Sixers could consider the baseball gods to be firmly against their cause, as their 5-4 defeat to Rochester today came from two home runs for Union in the 9th – from a player that is associated firmly with contact hitting (Israel Mejia) and an AAA player (SS Scott Blair). Closer Chris Pederson attracted a lot of heat from fans afterwards, after overseeing both slugs in 20 pitches – particularly as he controversially signed a $7.2m, 2-year extension with the Sixers only last week. “It’s nice to know the team is spending money on players that matter” one enraged fan posted on social media later that night.

10th July: Now the first man to win two NYBL Player of the Week awards, Keith Schmeling is once more in the spotlight for all the right reasons; his past week saw him hit 0.400 (12 from 25), with 3 home runs and an impressive 12 RBIs from the last 6 games. It looks more and more like Schmeling will be claiming the $210,000 hitter’s award bonus in his contract, but the Brooklyn native remains focused, saying “to be nominated again is fantastic, and I’m really hoping that I can do all I can to keep Rochester ahead of Queens as we get into the business end of the season.” The designated hitter is finding 0.340 with 30 home runs and 98 RBIs, from 90 games.



Costa Rican 2B Jonathan Miranda has asked to leave the Albany Dragons as soon as possible, citing a breakdown of relationship with both the fans and the management as his reasoning. The 32-year-hold, hitting 0.238, has had his request approved, and now sits on the trading block.

Finally, the usually level-headed Albert Lopez lost his cool today in the Bronx Phoenix’s 2-4 defeat to the Queens Diamonds, and after launching a tirade at the home plate umpire over a (correct) third strike call, the catcher finds himself on a 4-game suspension. “We’re definitely disappointed with him, but we do get the pressure cooker that a game can sometimes turn into” said manager Josh Simpson. Lopez usually plays in rotation with 25-year-old Josh Hermann, who will get some regular game time over the next week.

11th July: After his opening-game injury led to him trying to extol the virtues of the knuckleball to youngsters worried about harming themselves with the pitch, Buffalo pitcher Marcus Lunsford proved the deciding factor in the Bruisers’ 1-0 victory of the Sycamore Maples today at Maples Ballpark. Despite giving up 8 hits, he made 8 strikeouts, and seemed happy with his first consummate return to form since May. Lunsford currently sits on a 4.28 ERA.

12th July: An increasingly rare moment of joy for Albany Dragons fans today, as Miguel Hernandez capped off a superb all-round performance by the state capital team in their 7-0 victory over the Brooklyn Knights. Restricting the Knights to 4 hits, while finding 9 strikeouts, manager Jon Aguirre could hardly contain himself afterwards, saying that “he played aggressively, knew where to put the ball and gave everyone a reason to smile.” Hernandez is currently sat on 11-7, with a 3.33 ERA.

13th July: 1B Angelo Morales has spent more time this season in the developmental leagues, but it was his home run in the 14th innings that broke a 7-inning deadlock, to hand a 6-5 victory to the visiting Rochester Union over the Sycamore Maples. Maples RF Nathan Redfern, MVP despite their defeat following a double, a triple, and two runs to the good, said to reporters afterwards that “we weren’t good enough to take the win today, and to take it this far was actually surprising.” Redfern sits on a 0.288 with 7 home runs and 43 RBIs this year.

43 hits, 15 innings and an incredible 10 doubles were just some of the statistics which could be pulled out of the Bronx Phoenixes 9-8 victory over the Brooklyn Knights today. Curiously, despite the attacking fervour on display from both sides, the scores remained untouched at 8-8 for 5 whole innings, before Bronx 1B Edwin Badillo thundered a home run out of the park in the upper 15th. MVP outfielder Josh Roseman, 33, noted that “everyone in the park I think was a little relieved when Edwin smashed it home. The tension was unbelievable.”

15th July: Syracuse reliever Adam Ochs received the troubling news that he’d been fearing – his elbow inflammation was going to keep him out for at least 8 weeks, effectively ending his season for the Maples. Well-known for delivering 100mph cannons (if occasionally wayward) late in the game, Syracuse management have declared his injury “a blow to us all.” Ochs finished the season with a 3.41 ERA, and a WAR of 1.9.

After finding the 15th inning winner over Brooklyn only two days ago, Edwin Badillo hit 5-from-5 – including a 2-run home run – in the Bronx’s comfortable 8-2 series ender against the Knights. Despite only batting a 0.238 this season, Badillo has found some batting form of late, saying afterwards “I started off badly but I’m finding a rhythm now. Just gotta keep it going I guess!”

16th July: Another day, another 5-5…? Today’s feat was achieved by Colt Caudle of the Queens Diamonds, whose two singles, two doubles, and a solo dinger in the 8th went some way to helping his team beat the Brooklyn Knights 6-4. “I woke up feeling good, no nerves, nothing. I think that definitely helped today.” Caudle is batting 0.308 with 3 home runs, 20 RBIs and 58 runs.

17th July: 1B Patrick Warke was the clear MVP in Yonkers’ 5-2 victory over the Staten Island Bulls today, hitting not only a home run in the 7th, but the winning, 3-man home run walkoff in the 13th to top it. Speaking to assembled journalists (with a silly grin on his face), the 27-year-old All Star pick said “everything just fell into place perfectly, and it’s a wonderful thing when that happens.” Warke is hitting 0.308 with 13 home runs and 49 RBIs so far this season.

Rochester Union’s young third-baseman Jim Routh won the Player of the Week award this time around, after an astounding 0.667 week (14 for 21) saw him notch up 4 RBIs, and help his team to 6 wins in their last 7 games. On hearing the news, the 25-year-old said “considering I started this season in Triple-A baseball it’s awesome to win this award now.” Routh is finding an impressive 0.357 this season, with one home run and 12 runs.



18th July: Despite being 6-1 down after the first 5 innings, after 1st inning home runs from Edwin Badillo and Oscar Carrera, and 5th inning dingers from Josh Roseman and (once more) Badillo, a tremendous rally saw the Buffalo Bruisers cruise past the Bronx Phoenix 8-6 at Phoenix Park today. The game notably changed after the substitution of Enrique Diaz towards the end of the 5th innings, and Israel Adorno, Joe Clary, and Matt Kaehr were able to restrict the Bronx to a mere 4 hits in the last 4 innings, providing the attack enough room to surge past.

19th July: The Syracuse Maples made light work of the Yonkers Sixers today, inflicting all of the damage in their 11-1 result in the first three innings. With only one home run (a 2-man one, from Nathan Redfern) and 2 doubles from Danny Gonzalez (2-RBI) and Eric Christian in the entire game, eyes naturally drift towards Yonkers starter Nick Sullivan, whose 11 earned runs, 6 BB calls and mere 3 K’s in 6 innings made for easy pickings as far as the Maples’ arsenal was concerned.

21st July: Buffalo’s South Park Stadium roared into life after today’s game against the Brooklyn Knights, which saw the home side find 2 loaded-base doubles from C Zach Coblenz and LF Chad Reinig in the bottom 9th, overcoming the 4-2 deficit to win 5-4 at the last. “I’m gutted” said MVP Bill Williams, Brooklyn CF and the only man to hit 4 pitches today. “It was a very close game and it could’ve gone either way one feels, but to lose in this way still hurts.”

The Rochester Union may be storming the State Division right now (the division leaders are currently 15 games ahead of second-placed Syracuse), but they were utterly, spectacular embarrassed at Irondequoit Grounds today, where they lost 16-0 to bottom-of-the-pile Bronx Phoenix – a team 23 games behind. “It was like one of those dreams where you try walking, but everything you do just makes you fall over” said losing pitcher Nick Russo, who was subbed after the first 4 innings, dropping 7 runs. “I have to be happy with my performance,” said Bronx starter Rico Acosta, originally from Nicaragua, “but going 16 up on someone else’s ground almost feels wrong. It was far, far too easy.”

23rd July: Two days after their mortification against the Bronx, Rochester found themselves on the tail end of a 9-run 2nd innings, courtesy of the Brooklyn Knights – in particular, a combination of Ta-heng Fok’s 2-RBI double, an RBI triple from Armando Larreynaga, and a hefty 3-run homer from Bill Williams to finish the game before it really began. It ended 12-2 in Brooklyn’s favour, following which MVP Williams noted “I think everyone knew we’d finished them off by the end of the 2nd. To their credit, they went into damage limitation pretty well.” This is only Brooklyn’s 6th win in 21 games in July so far.

24th July: Manuel Flores cut a beleaguered figure after today’s Rochester – Brooklyn fixture, as his Rochester side slumped to a miserable 15-3 defeat to the Knights, making it defeat #6 on the bounce for the Union. Flores’ men were cut to pieces by Victor Juarez, whose 2 home runs and 2 doubles earned him 3 runs and another 7 RBIs, and slugs from Dante Benjamin and 2-in-as-many-days from Koshi Matsumoto meant that Seaview Grounds was filled with cheering blue flagholders by the game end. After storming away post-game in an obviously foul mood, it is clear that Flores will have some choice words for his team to ensure a week of this magnitude doesn’t happen again.

After holding the Diamonds to a credible 2-2 by the bottom 8th, pure hell descended upon Buffalo fans today, as they witnessed their team lose twelve – twelve – in the penultimate innings to eventually lose 14-2. Pinch hitters Miguel Longoria and Marcus LeBrun, both 38, made life unbearable for Bruisers reliever Joe Clary, who hadn’t even seen a man out before being subbed off – after having seen 7 runs go against him in the meantime.

Finally, Brooklyn Knights favourite Harry Jolly wins this week’s Player of the Week Award, after turning a 0.348 batting average into 4 home runs and 6 RBIs. “I think there’s a little more in me,” said the Australian third-base shark, “but I’m happy with how things are going right now. If we can get a few more wins as a team, I’ll be happier still.”



26th July: Despite losing today’s game 2-4 against the Bronx Phoenix, Nick Sullivan led the charge at defending manager Travis Webb today, saying to journalists that “Travis is well-respected by everyone at the club. Everyone likes him, everyone trusts him and most of all we firmly believe that he knows what he’s on about. Hell, some of us have even been over his for a barbeque. He does a mean honey-glazed rib.”

29th July: Only 5 days after winning the Player of the Week Award, Harry Jolly is now likely to miss the remainder of the 2017 NYBL season with a cracked rib. Involved in a collision with Yonkers 2B Mike Cooper, Jolly appeared to go to ground in a lot of pain – after examination, he’s been slated to be out for about 5 weeks. “It’s absolutely gutting for him” said manager Jon Aguirre. “To earn recognition and then have it snatched away in the same week is pretty galling for anyone.”

30th July: 42-year-old shortstop Terry Harris had every reason to look frustrated at the end of Albany’s 4-5 defeat to the Syracuse Maples, as despite hitting a 2-man home run in the 8th, it was his opposing number, shortstop Nolan Hylton, who cast the deciding blow with an RBI triple in the bottom 9th. Harris said to journalists waiting outside that “we’re having a rough spot right now, but everyone’s feeling good in the team and we’ll get back to the good times at the start of the season soon.” The matchwinner Hylton is currently on a 0.214 with 8 HRs and 31 RBIs.

It took a few days, but the impassioned response needed from Rochester Union came today with devastating effect – a 19-6 thrashing of their City Division adversaries, the Queens Diamonds. With 3-man home runs from both Keith Schmeling and Curtis Walden, 2-RBI triples from SS Allen Krausz and RBI doubles from Schmeling, Raymond Acret, Walden and Robert Navarrete, Rockaway Stadium felt like a very cold spot in Queens by the end of the night. Jose Marquez set the record for most runs in a game with 5, but it was Schmeling who was nominated MVP for his 6 RBIs and 4 runs, something he says “I’ve been wanting for a bit – I let my foot off the pedal and it showed.”

31st July: It took 12 innings, but Queens were able to exact a measure of revenge over Rochester today; following a 13th-hour move initiated by Colt Caudle’s double, the match at Rockaway Stadium ended 4-3 in the Diamonds’ favour. Finding 5 K’s and only 2 earned runs was MVP Joey Idrizi, who said afterwards “I’m a Queens boy through and through, and I put that into my performance today.” The result puts the Diamonds within 1 game of the Rochester Union, with 68 wins.

Player of the Week for the last week of July goes to Rochester no-nonsense contact hitter Israel Mejia, whose 0.654 (17-for-26) average, 2 home runs, 3 RBIs and 9 runs makes him a clear winner for the award. Well-liked by fans for his constant effort, Mejia wanted to reassure them about his elbow, stating that “it’s only a little sore, nothing to be worried about. It’ll be funny for a couple of weeks but if I can play, you bet your ass I will.” Mejia is currently dominating the Zone Rating charts with +18.9 Runs, an amazing +7.7 above second-placed Chris Meche of Staten Island.



Batter of the Month went to another Rochester player – Keith Schmeling, of course, whose 26 runs, 12 doubles, 43 hits, 43 RBIs, and 12 home runs put him at the top (sometimes quite considerably) of practically every available batting stat for the month. Speaking of the award, Schmeling said “I had a bit of a funny week around the 21st, but around that this was a particularly special month. I don’t wanna jinx anything, but I think as long as we’re not stupid you’ll see us in the playoffs for sure.”

Pitcher of the Month went to another repeat winner, in the form of Staten Island Bulls reliever Manny Escamilla, who continues to wow pundits with his late-game wizardry for the always-exciting Bulls. This month, he pulled 6 saves and 26 K’s in 15 innings, holding the opposition to a 0.185 average and posting a 2.35 ERA – and didn’t record a single defeat. “Winning it last month was pretty great, but now people are gonna start thinking I’m something special!” said the 37-year-old closer. Escamilla is currently sitting on 28 saves, with an ERA of 2.50 and a WHIP of 1.19.

Already showing signs of mental maturity and positional awareness, 24-year-old Bronx SS Oscar Carrera takes the Rookie of the Month Award for July, after posting a 0.333 this month with 3 home runs and 16 RBIs. Carrera, already recognised as one of the finest infielders in the league and a captain-like figure, said “it’s fantastic to be recognised in this way, although with things not going so great for us in the league, I need to maintain my focus – for obvious reasons.”




Standings at the end of July



Team batting and pitching statistics




Player batting, pitching and fielding statistics