Friday Morning Quick Hitters

The world without Tom Brady might have got just a tad better Thursday Night. The New England Patriots looked like they were going to get rolled over by the New York Jets. The Jets seemed to convert on every 3rd down possible, building a 24 – 6 lead with a little under 5 minutes left in the 1st half. Matt Cassel looked every bit as calm and collected as the departed superstar, finishing a great drive with a 19 yrd TD pass to Jabbar Gaffney with 15 seconds left in the half. The 3rd quarter was promising for the Patriots, as the D stood up and forced a few 3 and outs from the Jets. The offense finally broke through at the very end of the quarter with a nice 10 yrd TD pass from Cassel to Ben Watson. The 4th quarter was a different story, as the Jets seemed able to again convert 3rd downs and jet the running game going again. The Jets took 7:06 off the clock in the 4th with a 17 play drive that resulted in a Thomas Jones 1 yrd TD run to put the Jets up by 7. After a Pats drive petered out, they punted and forced a 3 and out from the Jets, and got the ball back with 1:06 left in the game. Matt Cassel took what the Jets gave them 15 yrds at a time down the middle, used spikes to stop the clock to get to the Jets 25. After a false start on Dan Koppen moved them back to the 30, Cassel then hit Wes Welker for 14 yrds on a 2nd and 15, forcing a 4th and 1 after the spike. After a Jets timeout, the Jets, who had been playing tight bump and run double coverage on Randy Moss all night, inexplicably, put Ty Law one on one, Cassel saw it, rolled to the right and hit Moss on a beautiful pass on the sideline with 1 second left on the clock. Steven Gostkowski hit the extra point to tie the game at 31. The Pats squibbed the kick forcing overtime. In OT, the Jets won the toss and started moving the ball. The Pats forced a 3rd and 15, but again, left Dustin Keller wide open in the slot for a 16 yrd gain for 1st down. That was the back breaker for the Pats, as the Jets ran the ball to field goal range and Jay Feely ended the game with a 34 yrd field goal to take sole possession of 1st place in the AFC East. Jerod “The Clinic” Mayo was a beast, finishing with 20 tackles in this game. The Jets won 34 – 31

Javon Walker possibly out for the rest of the season for the Raiders.

The Dallas Mavericks fall to 2 – 6 as Ben Gordon goes for 35 points for the Bulls as Chicago beat Dallas 98 – 91.

Dustin Pedroia is the 1st Red Sox 2nd Baseman to capture the Silver Slugger Award. In other Sox news, Portland Sea Dogs pitching coach Mike Cather say Clay Buchholz worked extremely hard in the Arizona Fall League.

Cliff Lee is the 2nd Cleveland Indians pitcher in a row to capture the AL Cy Young Award.

Free Agency started at 12:01 AM this morning..keep a close eye on The Steamer for updates

Sea Dogs Fall Again

(Trenton, NJ) – Austin Jackson hit a game-tying three-run home run off Clay Buchholz in the sixth inning and P.J. Pilittere hit a tie-breaking two-out RBI single in the eighth inning, lifting the Trenton Thunder to a 4-3 win over the Portland Sea Dogs in Game 2 of the Eastern League Northern Division Championship Series.

Portland threatened in the ninth inning after Jorge Jimenez singled and Ryan Khoury walked with one out. However, Jose Valdez induced Zach Daeges to hit into a game-ending double play.

Portland had base runners in seven innings and multiple base runners in six of those stanzas, but were 5-for-17 with runners on base, including just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Mickey Hall laced a two-out, two-run double to snap a scoreless tie for the Sea Dogs in the fourth inning, and Daeges added a run-scoring single in the fifth inning.

Buchholz fanned nine of the first 18 batters he faced, including one in each of the first five innings. He allowed only two singles and a walk in the first five frames and struck out the side in the fifth. However, in the sixth inning, Reegie Corona and Ramiro Pena started the frame with singles before Jackson’s blast on a 2-2 pitch. Jackson, who hit safely in 14 of the last 15 games he played against Portland in the regular season, failed to get a sacrifice bunt down before launching a curveball over all three levels of signage in left field.

Buchholz finished with six innings of three-run, six-hit ball, walking one and striking out nine. Richie Lentz followed with a perfect seventh inning.

But in the eighth inning, Trenton scored the go-ahead run with a two-out uprising. Dave Gassner replaced Lentz and retired the first two batters before walking Chris Malec and allowing a single to Colin Curtis. T.J. Large entered the game, and Pilittere ripped the first pitch into right field for his third hit of the game to plate the go-ahead run.

Portland snapped a scoreless tie off Jeff Marquez in the fourth inning with a two-out rally. Marquez walked Josh Reddick and Iggy Suarez to set up Hall, who smacked a two-run double over the head of right fielder Edwar Gonzalez.

In the fifth, Jorge Jimenez drilled a double to start the frame. One out later, Daeges singled to right for his third hit of the game to give the Sea Dogs a three-run cushion.

Marquez kept it scoreless early, stifling Portland rallies in the first and third frames. Jimenez and Daeges singled in the first, but Marquez got Aaron Bates on a flyout and fanned Lars Anderson. In the third frame, Ryan Khoury and Daeges hit consecutive two-out singles, but Bates flew out with runners on the corners to end the inning.

Humberto Sanchez worked around a one-out double in a scoreless sixth inning. Michael Gardner walked two in the seventh inning, but Wilkins Arias came on to get Lars Anderson to pop up to end the inning.

Arias tossed a perfect eighth but left with one out in the ninth after allowing a one-out single to Jimenez. Jose Valdez relieved and walked Khoury before getting the twin killing from Daeges to end the game.

NOTES: Portland is facing Trenton in the Northern Division Championship Series for the fourth straight season, but lost a Game 2 for the first time to the Thunder – the Sea Dogs won at home in 2005 and at Waterfront Park in 2006 and 2007… Argenis Diaz was a late scratch, taken out of the lineup a half-hour prior to first pitch. Suarez moved to shortstop from second base and Khoury was inserted into the lineup in the #2 hole… The start was the first post-season start for Buchholz since September 6, 2006, when he fanned 10 in six innings in a 3-1 win for the Wilmington Blue Rocks over the Frederick Keys in the Carolina League playoffs… Former Sea Dog Devern Hansack tossed six no-hit innings for Triple-A Pawtucket in its playoff series Game 2 with Scranton-Wilkes Barre – Jon Switzer lost the no-hitter with one out in the seventh inning in relief but Pawtucket beat Scranton 3-1 to tie their series at one game a piece… The series will shift to Portland Friday night at 7 – Ryne Lawson (1-1, 4.06) goes for the Sea Dogs against Jason Jones (13-7, 3.33), who was second in the Eastern League in wins and 7th in ERA in the regular season. Tickets remain for the contest and are available on seadogs.com or at the Sea Dogs Ticket Office at 879-9500

Courtesy Mike Antonellis

Sea Dogs Playoff Rotation

This is the seventh time in the 15-year history of the franchise that the Sea Dogs have advanced to the Eastern League playoffs. Portland has advanced to the Eastern League finals on four occasions, and won its first Eastern League title in 2006 by defeating the Akron Aeros.

The first round of the Eastern League playoffs is a best out of five series scheduled to get underway on Wednesday, September 3^rd. Games one, two and five (if necessary) will be played in Trenton, New Jersey. While the Sea Dogs will host games three and four (if necessary). Games three and four are scheduled to be played at Hadlock Field on Friday, September 5^th at 7:00 PM and Saturday, September 6^th at 6:00 PM.

The two division series winners will square off in a best of five series for the Eastern League Championship Series. Should the Sea Dogs advance to the Championship series, Games one and two would be played at the home of the Southern Division winner. The Sea Dogs would host games three, four (if necessary), and five (if necessary) at Hadlock Field on Friday, September 12^th, Saturday, September 13^th, and Sunday, September 14^th.

Tickets for the Eastern League Playoffs are available and can be purchased by calling the Sea Dogs Ticket Office at 207-879-9500. Playoff tickets are priced the same as regular season tickets and range between $4.00 and $9.00.

Pitching Matchups

Game 1 – TRN Eric Hacker (7-4, 2.76) vs PRT Kris Johnson (8-9, 3.63)

Game 2 – TRN Jeff Marquez (1-1, 2.93) vs. PRT Clay Buchholz (1-0, 1.80)

Game 3 – TRN Jason Jones (13-3, 3.33) vs. PRT Ryne Lawson (1-1, 4.06)

Game 4 – TRN George Kontos (6-11, 3.68) vs. PRT Dustin Richardson (7-10, 6.33)(if necessary)

Game 5 – TRN Christian Garcia (0-0 3.38) vs. PRT Dave Gassner (8-5, 5.82) (if necessary)

Courtesy of the Portland Sea Dogs (Thanks to Chris Cameron and Mike Antonellis).