Pirates 5- Silvers 4. in 9. WP Mike Kane. although the Pirates swept us in 2 , It was a tight series as both games were one run games and the winning run was accomplished in the last inning. Congrats Pirates and good luck as you advance in the playoffs.
I had the occasion to chat with manager Bob Yakatan after the game. he reminded me of the trek this franchsie has been on . I don't recall the year but it was some time ago, when the league sponsored its last "tryout day" at the Knick field in Troy. 20 or so players came out that day. afterward Bob and Jim Preller hung around to see how Kevin Jackson and I had digested the talent and if we had plans for them. I told Jim and Bob that day their best bet to play was to form their own team in the then still small over 40 divsion. from those humble beginnings they have progressively gotten a better record, recruited some excellent players , but most notalby stayed true to the alchemy that is the core of the Pirates. sportsmanship, hard play, and a true family of players. Guys like Ron Smaka, Mike Kane, Bob Yakatan, Carlo Agneta , have stayed thru the years of growth and new players to define this team credo. I know too that many "retired" Pirates are cheering you on.
And I hope to catch a few games in the next series. will the O's regain the crown they lost last year? will the Humminbirds resurge to gain yet a fourth league title? will the Pirates continue to win the close games and will the youngest franchise to survive the quarters , the Mets, rush in and take over? good luck to all of the semi -finalist. should be some very good games. jreel, Silvers since '97.
The Pirates/Marlins quarterfinals games proved to be very exciting baseball as we all hoped they should be in the playoffs. The seesaw 1st game had the Pirates score 1st and Marlins eventually take the lead by one. The Pirates then come back in the bottom of the 7th to score 2 and win. The 2nd game, Thursday night, saw a tie game after 6 suspended when the lights were failed to be turned on at the "A" Diamond. The game was continued on Saturday morning and runners on base for each team in the 7th, 8th and 9th, when the Pirates with 2 outs scored the winning run. The Pirates had played 4 games in 5 days the week before and the Marlins even more. Congrats to the Marlins for a great season battling injuries and still playing all their regular season games as did the Pirates. I want to especially thank John Reel for his kind words regarding the Pirates and his recap of our history in the 35 Division of CDMSBL. After that Fall 2000 "tryout day", Jim Preller and I agreed to develop a team for the 2001 season, as the thought of not realizing our dreams of playing hardball again was not something we could live with, even though we had for many years. We started that team with no league experienced players, as I recall. Our 2 -19 record that year showed it, but our newly formed Pirates hearts taught us to not give up as we upset a team in the opening round of the playoffs. The next several years showed improvement, bringing us to our first semi-final appearance, best regular season percentage and highest regular season position finish in our 9 yr history. We will continue to strive to play our best and enjoy the experience that we, and I believe all players in this organization feel, every time we walk onto that diamond made of green.
As Manager of the Marlins for 2009, I would like to shed some light on what Bob mentioned about our playing through some injuries. All eleven guys who played in the series with the Pirates had injuries that would keep leeser men off the field. This battle scarred team, that played four games in three days during the final week against the Outlaws, Pirates, and Hummnbirds was decimated, when two of the healthier players were scheduled to be away for the first week of the playoffs. There was a time when I thought that we would be unable to put 9 players out there. I had three guys play with dibillitating injuries and 8 others take just nagging to serious injuries out with them. Hats off to Ron Lochner (compressed vertabrae), Mike Patnaude (fractured rib) and Curt Coons (shoulder injury) for risking serious time off their jobs, just so they wouldn't "let down their teammates!" Chuck Sohl, Phil Gadomski, Mike Clary, Skip Treece, and Ryan Carmichael for playing on very bad "wheels." Just about everyone played out of position to cover for someone else. This was a truely "gutsy" performance from a great bunch of guys! I have never been more proud to be part of a team like this. In the end, the Pirates won because they were the better team on the field. Congratulations and good luck to a very worthy #2 seed. Mike Kane and Joey Burns will keep you in every game, all you have to do is find a way to muster 3 or 4 runs per game, and you will have a great chance to go all the way.
I can see a scenario where any one of the 4 remaining team can win it all. It should be a great two weeks of semi's and finals. Good luck to all four!!!
Just returned from Minneapolis to hear the disappointing news. It was tough not being there and there's no doubt my Marlins left it all on the field and gave the deserving Bucs all they could handle. Certain things take priority and watching my son have the opportunity of a lifetime to work the PGA Championship last week and meet most of golfs greats was priceless..... I must admit I had a little too much fun as well. To my Marlin mates.... Your the best! To the Bucs. Congrats and good luck.
