August 20, 2009 / Sports / Brooklyn Cyclones

And down the stretch they come! But will the Clones lead hold up?

By Zeke Faux

for The Brooklyn Paper

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With the major league club out of contention (and mostly in the hospital!), the Wilpon family appears to have turned its attention to Brooklyn, where the Li’l Amazin’s lead over the hated Staten Island Yankees dwindled to two-and-a-half games by the all-star break.

Jeff Wilpon, scion of the Flushing dynasty, was spotted in the Cyclones’ clubhouse on Sunday, and soon after, the Mets shocked the New York–Penn League by shipping a top prospect and a bunch of ringers to Brooklyn:

• Third baseman Richard Lucas, who was batting .362 and leading the Appalachian League with a .479 on-base percentage, was called up from Kingsport.

• Second baseman Jordany Valdespin, and his .322 average, came down from Savannah.

• Relievers Jake Goldberg and Manuel Olivares, both 23, were sent down from Savannah, where Goldberg had a 2.89 ERA and gave up just 32 hits in 37-1/3 innings, and Olivares had a 3.77 ERA with a remarkably low two homers allowed in 62 innings.

• Lance Hoge, who posted a 2.31 ERA in six relief appearances for the Clones earlier this season, rejoined the club from Savannah.

• And the Mets literally bought another ringer for the Cyclones’ stretch run: 25-year-old independent league slugger Scott Grimes, who hit a game-tying, pinch-hit homer in Saturday’s 2–1 loss to Oneonta.

Still, Brooklyn’s post-season prospects don’t look so certain — after an unbelievable 16–2 run to start the season, the Cyclones’ record has been barely over .500, 20–19, while the Yanks went 25–13 in that stretch, trimming the lead by five-and-a-half games.

“I keep hearing the guys talking about the Yankees on the back of the bus,” said manager Pedro Lopez. “But if I start worrying about what the Yankees are doing, I’m not paying enough attention to what our guys are doing. We’re in control of our own destiny.”

Perhaps, but the Cyclones know that with the major-league club down and out, the organization is counting on them to bring home a championship.

“We want to win it for Brooklyn. We want to win it for the Mets — not everything’s been going well up there,” said reliever Bobby Gagg.

With the Wilpons focused on the Cyclones, look for more ringers on the Boardwalk. Couldn’t injured stars David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and John Maine use a relaxing rehab by taking the waters at Coney Island?

The Faux Hole

All-Star Dock Doyle will start at catcher for the rest of the season, skipper Pedro Lopez said on Sunday. The manager met with young backstop Juan Centeno after the game to break the news. … Wes Wrenn started Sunday’s 2–1 win over Oneonta because Brandon Moore sprained his ankle on Aug. 11. Moore was slated to open the three-game series against State College on Wednesday night, but Darin Gorski made the start. … Struggling shortstop Luis Nieves was demoted to Kingsport on Aug. 11.

©2009 Community Newspaper Group