Minor League Team Succeeds On and Off the Field

NEW JERSEY -- The Somerset Patriots were founded in 1998, and over 16 years later, the minor league organization is still going strong.

Somerset has been in existence for over 16 years, and the team was one of the firsts to join the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was also founded in 1998. The team has also defined consistency with an organizational career win percentage of .537%. The Patriots' first manager, Sparky Lyle (who retired in 2012 after a 14 year run), won five championships and has over 1,000 career wins on his ledger.

The Patriots have had roster success as well. Although the ALPB is not affiliated with Major League Baseball teams, players for the Patriots (and other ALPB teams) can be signed onto MLB rosters. For manager Brett Jodie, that is the ultimate ambition.

The crowd at TD Bank Ballpark during a recent game against the Bridgeport Bluefish. (Click to open full screen)

“I’m very happy when we get guys back to affiliated ball,” said Jodie in May. “There’s nothing like coming off the field at night after our game, turning on the TV, and seeing one of our former Patriots pitching.” But, Jodie added: “We’re also trying to win a lot of games, here.”

The players, many of whom have professional aspirations, enjoy their time at Somerset, citing the family-like demeanor around the team and organization.

“It’s a lot of fun here,” says starting pitcher Erik Arnesen. Arnesen has been with the team for two seasons, including a brief stint at the AA level in 2013. “It’s relaxed, and we just go out and have a good time and win ballgames.”

Left fielder Ahron Eggleston has also been with the team for two years. He said: “the atmosphere [around the team] is great.”

CREDIT: instagram.com/SomersetPatriots

It is not always easy to win and attract tremendous fan interest, but it appears that Somerset has accomplished both. The team, which plays at TD Bank Ballpark in New Jersey, a stadium that can sit 6,100, has reached up to 8,012 fans in the first half of the 2014 alone. “A lot of the people here care about the baseball itself more than other crowds,” said Mike Ashmore, a Patriots’ beat reporter that has covered the team since 2003.

But Minor League Baseball, including unaffiliated leagues like the Atlantic League, has its pitfalls. Case in point: The Newark Bears, a team in the local New Jersey area and rivals with the Patriots, folded their organization in 2014 after struggling with finances for years. The Bears were not lacking skill or on-field talent – big names like Jose Canseco and Ricky Henderson played for the team in 2001 and 2003, respectively. But, after filing for bankruptcy in 2008 and officially folding in 2014, the team never found stable ground.

Despite the ambiguity in minor league baseball, longtime Patriots’ beat reporter Mike Ashmore believes the fan attention comes for a reason. “These guys deserve the support ... I’m glad they’re getting it.”

But for Brett Jodie, there is one omnipresent goal for the organization: thriving on the field.

“Everybody’s here for the same reason – to win and get picked up.”

Read More

Somerset Patriots Recap: Offense breaks through in 13 inning marathon

NEW JERSEY – It took 4 hours and 11 minutes, but the Somerset Patriots (18-10) eventually prevailed in a 2-1 victory over the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs (11-17) on Saturday evening.

The winning run was scored when the Patriots came up-to-bat in the bottom of the 13^th inning. Despite the fact that Blue Crabs’ closer Erik Hamren had a road stat-line of eleven strikeouts in seven innings pitched, the 6’1 hurler faced the meat of the Patriots lineup.

Leading off the inning, 2B Nate Spears doubled to right field, RF Luis Montanez laced a single up the middle, and 3B Corey Smith induced a walk to load the bases. DH Ty Wright had a 3-2 count, but showed lack-of-discipline swinging on a ball out the zone that would have sent Spears in to win the game. Fear not: with one out and bases still loaded, 1B Robbie Widlansky stepped to the plate. After fouling off the first pitch, Widlansky drilled a groundball up the middle, advancing to first with a RBI fielder’s choice that sent Spears dashing across home plate.

The offense in the 13^th inning was not representative of the previous 12. Patriots’ lefty Matt Zielinski had a solid night, throwing seven strikeouts in just as many innings; his only blemish coming in the first inning after a RBI double from 1B Cyle Hankerd scored RF Jermaine Mitchell. The Patriots gave Zielinski some run protection in the fourth, when catcher Adam Donachie scored 3B Corey Smith from second base with a RBI single. The score remained 1-1 until Spears’s winning run, setting up a pitching duel for the 5,730 in attendance at TD Bank Ballpark on a brisk night. 

To the 12th we head!

This is not unusual for either team – each has struggled offensively this season, resulting in two of the lowest team batting averages in the Atlantic League. After giving up the first inning run, Zielinski scattered four hits over the next six frames and kept Somerset in the game. Brian Baker, the Blue Crabs’ starting right-hander, countered with four strikeouts in six innings, throwing 61 of his 90 pitches for strikes.

A leaping catch from SS Edwin Maysonet saved 6’9 pitcher Jon Hunton’s impressive 1-2-3 frame for the Patriots in the top of the 12^th, and 5’11 righty Jason Lowey closed the win for the Patriots by cleanly maneuvering his way out of a two-out jam in the top of the 13^th with runners on first and second. That set up the winning frame for the Patriots offense, a group that now has 10 come from behind victories on the season.

After a tough 3-2 loss in the series opener against the Blue Crabs on Friday, the Patriots look to take the lead in a four-game series Sunday afternoon at 1:05.

NOTES: 

• Offensive opportunities were aplenty (the two sides left 25 runners on base – ten of which came in the final four innings), continuing a season-long trend for the Somerset Patriots: solid pitching but reluctant hitting. Manager Brett Jodie alluded before the game that hitting was a clear area of weakness for his team. “It’s a different guy every night coming out and contributing … which is a good thing,” Jodie said. “But, we’re gonna try to get more guys [hot].” Jodie added that he’d give the team a “B” grade on the season so far, citing that with better hitting, that grade could be improved. 

• As Jodie mentioned, the Patriots offense has gotten contributions from different guys, and it was no different against the Blue Crabs on Saturday. Robbie Widlansky, who hit the game-winning RBI in the 13th inning, is on a bit of a streak: in Widlansky’s first 16 games, he only had four RBI. In the Florida-native’s last six games, he has eight RBI.

• In a bizarre moment, with the game tied through extra innings, a thick fog began to make its way into the ballpark, engulfing the outfield. Visibility was so bad that home plate umpire JB Torres even went into the outfield to check the sight himself. The game eventually resumed, after a lengthy delay, with the top of the 12^th inning.

• Several Patriots extended hit streaks: Adam Donachie to 5 games, Luis Montanez to 4, and Robbie Widlansky to 6.

• The 13 inning game was the second longest game of the season for the Patriots (season opener lasted 17), and the match tied the longest extra-inning game of the year (4 hours and 11 minutes long on 4/25).

The Somerset Patriots and Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are a part of the Atlantic League.

Read More

College Pay-for-Play Debate: Street Team Chat hosted by Amiri Tulloch

Amiri Tulloch is joined by members of the Street Team to talk about a very controversial topic, in light of March Madness. Should collegiate athletes get paid?

Our panelists will debate the topic and hopefully come to a compromise when it is all said and done. We will be joined by Ethan Strauss (ESPN.com & WarriorsWorld.com), David Spellman (attorney), Andrew Doxy, Thomas Khristenko, and Fausto Rodriguez.

Please be sure to visit StreetTeamCentral.com for all of your sports coverage.

Read More

Redskins Nab Jackson, MLB Season Opens: JGST 4/2

It's the latest edition of JG Sports Talk with your host Amiri Tulloch!

On today's show, he talks about DeSean Jackson signing with the Washington Redskins, and why he's somewhat cautious of the team's decision. 

Matthew Orso, baseball extraordinaire, joins the program to preview the 2014 season. 

Noah Miller hops on to look at the NBA playoffs and draft. 

In the JGST Newswire segment, Amiri looks at the Yankees' rough start and possible head coaches for the New York Knicks.

Read More

Miguel Cabrera's Huge Deal: JGST 3/28

Amiri discusses Miguel Cabrera's eight-year contract extension, including his thoughts on whether or not it will pan out in the long-term.

Read More

Interview w/Chicago Bulls Reporter Sam Smith: JGST 3/26

On the latest edition of JG Sports Talk, your host Amiri Tulloch is joined by longtime Chicago Bulls beat reporter Sam Smith. Smith covered Phil Jackson during his six-championship heyday in Chicago, and had an up-close look at the fabled "triangle offense" Jackson used.

Sam breaks down the intricacies of the offense, the players needed to best fit the offense, and why it's seen so negatively around the NBA.

Read More