Tag Archives: Adam Kolarek

10 April 2014 – Binghamton Mets at New Hampshire Fisher Cats

Posted by on 11 April 2014 Comments Off on 10 April 2014 – Binghamton Mets at New Hampshire Fisher Cats

The B-Mets go balls to the (center field) wall

The last time I saw Darin Gorski, the Fisher Cats jumped all over him for 9 runs in 4+ innings.  Two years later, Gorski is back in control despite a fastball that tops out around 88mph.  Like the pitcher in Big Windup though, He was able to use what he had effectively enough to strike out 10 while only giving up one unearned run in 6 innings of work.  That one run wasn’t enough to beat a B-Mets offense that seemed to have it out for the 400ft deep center field fence and produced 9 runs to give the Mets an easy win.

Box Score

The last time I saw Kevin Plawecki, he struck out looking (and swearing) to end the game in a Cyclones loss.  Plawecki was swinging away on Thursday night, though his first attempts weren’t pretty.  He then grounded out to third three times in a row before finally reaching base on an error in the 9th to cap an 0-5 night.  Defensively, he didn’t fare much better, producing the lone run for the Fisher Cats.

Binghamton started the center field assault in the top of the second when Jayce Boyd bounced one off the wall for a double.  Fisher Cats center fielder Kenny Wilson jumped into the wall after it but was unable to make the grab.  Dustin Lawley then put one over the left field wall to give the B-Mets a 2-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Darin Gorski was dealing, ending both the second and third innings on swinging strikeouts.  The only runner he allowed in the first three innings was on a ball that Darrell Ceciliani misplayed off the center field wall and very well could have turned into an inside-the-park home run.  The runner held up at third and then got to spend the next two at-bats watching Gorski do his thing.

The Fisher Cats offense came alive in the 4th when Jon Berti reached on a bunt single and then stole second on a strikeout.  Plawecki’s throw was on target but late, about what you would expect from a catcher known more for his bat than his arm.  Berti then quickly stole third on an inside pitch to the right-handed Brad Glenn.  The pitch pushed everyone into the worst possible position for Plawecki to make a throw, so it wasn’t much of a surprise to see the ball fly into left field, scoring Berti.  Gorski then issued two walks, putting runners on first and second with one out in what was now a 2-1 game before a double play ended the threat.

Binghamton resumed their assault on the center field wall in the 5th, but their attempts were weak and off target.  After giving Fisher Cats left fielder Mike Crouse a good workout, the B-Mets claimed victory when Brian Burgamy crushed one over the wall in the deepest part of the park.  With the wall slain and a healthy 5-1 lead, it was up to Gorski to return to form and keep the Fisher Cats in check.

Which he did, ending the next two innings on swinging strikeouts while allowing just a pair of singles before what would be his 10th and final strikeout of the night.  With his fastball sitting at 88, Gorski was getting a lot more contact putting balls in play instead of the foul balls that had been setting up his earlier strikeouts.  Still, it was a solid outing.

Both sides went to the bullpen in the 7th, which didn’t work out well for the Fisher Cats.  After a single, stolen base, single, and walk, the B-Mets had the bases loaded with no outs in the top of the 7th.  Brian Burgamy, not one to follow suit with this whole “everyone gets on base” thing, grounded into a double play to drive in a run.  Kevin Plawecki then grounded out to third for the third time to end the inning.

First up from the B-Mets pen was Jon Velasquez, who exited without incident after a 1-2-3 inning.  Adam Kolarek came in to finish things out, as he always seems to do around here when a big lead is involved.  Not closer material, I guess.  Brian Burgamy once again broke pattern when the Fisher Cats were helping the B-Mets with some fielding drills.  After ground outs to third and short, Burgamy bobbled the ground ball to second.  This guy really does not like patterns.

Kevin Plawecki doesn’t always ground out to third. Sometimes he reaches on error after grounding to second.

The Manchester air turned chilly by the 9th inning, so you would expect the Mets, already weary from an overnight bus trip and now 6 trips around the bases, to want to wrap things up quickly.  Cory Vaughn started things off right by sending the first pitch into Kenny Wilson’s glove (via a slick sliding catch), but the next three batters resumed the assault on center field with three consecutive doubles.  That brought up pattern-buster Brian Burgamy.  Burgamy walked.  After a pitching change, Kevin Plawecki changed up his pattern, grounding out to second instead of third.  Or at least he would have if the second baseman hadn’t thrown the ball away going for the force out at second and, likely, an inning-ending double play.  Plawecki ended the night karma-neutral on throwing errors and the run that scored on the play was the final one in this 9-1 B-Mets victory.

2 June 2013 – Binghamton Mets at New Hampshire Fisher Cats

Posted by on 3 June 2013 Comments Off on 2 June 2013 – Binghamton Mets at New Hampshire Fisher Cats

Pesky Puello steals the show (and second base)

It was Law Enforcement Appreciation Day at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium on a hot and sunny June afternoon.  The day started off with a Pesky Pole bobblehead giveaway, police dog demonstrations, a pipeband, and police motorcycles circling the field.  When the police left the field, the theft began.  Cesar Puello stole second base in the first inning and the B-Mets stole the game on a five-run 5th inning to take the series with a 7-2 win.  Their reward was a 7-hour bus ride back to Binghamton with a 2-game lead in their division.

Box score

The first three innings followed a pretty standard script for both teams.  Somebody strikes out, somebody gets on base, and the runner usually advances to second somehow.  Back and forth we went until the bottom of the 4th, when the Fisher Cats started things off with their first extra base hit of the game, a double by Clint Robinson.  A bunt moved Robinson to third and a fly ball that Darrell Ceciliani couldn’t get to drove him in to give the Fisher Cats the lead.  Jacob deGrom shut down the Fisher Cats offense from there with an infield fly and a strikeout.  His 92mph fastball didn’t miss many bats, but deGrom still managed 6 strikeouts, mostly with what appeared to be a trick pitch that set the ball on an invisible 4-inch tee on the plate.  Or maybe that’s just a camera trick.

Darrell Ceciliani turning an intentional walk into a run

The B-Mets answered back in the 5th with the type of offensive explosion typically reserved for Deck McGuire starts.  Alonzo Harris, in his second game back from a finger injury, finally got his bunting dialed in and set down his second hard bunt of the day, dropping it right down the first base line, drawing the first baseman in to field it, and getting to the bag before anyone could cover first.  Harris advanced to second on a single and was forced out at third when Wilfredo Tovar’s bunt attempt didn’t quite go as planned.  Daniel Muno singled and Cesar Puello doubled to give the B-Mets the lead and put runners on second and third with two outs for Cory Vaughn, who had struck out twice already and would finish the day with 4 Ks.  Vaughn was intentionally walked to load the bases for Darrell Ceciliani.  Ceciliani took advantage of the extra baserunner with a fly ball that got past a diving Brian Van Kirk for a triple, putting the B-Mets up 5-1.

Neither team did much of anything over the next inning.  Cesar Puello caught another fly ball, deGrom got two more strikeouts, and Harris abandoned the nothing-but-bunts plan and struck out.  DeGrom’s luck finally ran out in the bottom of the 6th when Clint Robinson sent one over the 400ft wall in center for a solo home run.  When the next batter resulted in deGrom’s third walk of the game, Adam Kolarek was called in to take over.  Kolarek retired all five batters he faced, Jack Leathersich pitched another perfect 8th inning (only one strikeout this time though), and Jeff Walters came in to finish the game.  More on that later.

Ceciliani drove Puello in with a triple, then Puello did it himself with a home run

Cesar Puello added a solo home run in the 7th to leave him a triple shy of the cycle.  He wouldn’t get it, though teammates Ceciliani and Richard Lucas would both triple in the game, Ceciliani earlier in the 5th inning and Lucas in the 8th.  Lucas would go on to score on a wild pitch that bounced out in front of the catcher, putting the B-Mets up 7-2.  Puello would pop out with the bases loaded and no outs in the top of the 9th and the B-Mets would strand all three runners, leaving it up to Walters to wrap things up.

Cesar Puello, with the glove, in right field

Actually, the game was in Cesar Puello’s hands in the bottom of the 9th, quite literally.  Puello was all over this game like any number of offensive stereotypes of people who are all over things.  Already 3 for 5 with a double, home run, stolen base, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored, you would think that he would be satisfied.  You obviously don’t know Puello.  He made the first out by beating out Muno and Lucas to a fly ball next to the Fisher Cats bullpen and then just missed getting to a line drive in time to make the third out.  That put runners on first and second for Walters, but Puello bailed him out by grabbing a routine fly ball to end the game.  Puello caught five outs to go with his exploits at the plate and on the basepaths, ranging from the foul line to center and making everyone else get out of his way.  It was a solid game all around following an 0-4, 3K night on Friday and a night off on Saturday.  It looks like there just might be some decent outfield prospects in the Mets system after all, though Puello still has a ways to go before he’s ready for the majors.