Michael Conforto — last year’s best Cyclone and this year’s most exciting Met — wasn’t the only former Mini-Met to make headlines this week. And readers of this column know that we’re always searching for new and exciting ways to cover the Cyclone Universe. So, without further ado, here’s an update on some Clones from yesteryear who made a splash in the bigs this week:
• One of the most heralded Cyclones of our generation, Scott Kazmir, was traded to the Houston Astros from the Oakland A’s as Houston looks to make an unexpected run at the postseason. The southpaw that got away from the Mets — he was unceremoniously dumped in favor of unheralded pitcher Victor Zambrano in one of the worst trades in history.
• Cyclone great Lucas Duda homered twice for the Mets in Saturday’s game against the Dodgers and then again on Tuesday. Duda, who had been struggling offensively this season (and we use offensively as an adverb and adjective) looks like he’s finally turning his season around, delivering on the promise he showed last season.
• Kirk Nieuwenhuis has hit .375 since re-joining the Mets after a cameo with the Angels. This included a game where he became the first Met to hit three home runs in a single home game. Like Conforto, Nieuwenhuis had four hits in Saturday’s romp over the Dodgers.
• Cyclone marksman Dillon Gee has pitched well in Triple-A Las Vegas since accepting an assignment there, going 3–0 in his last four starts. Gee has struck out 21 and walked six in the hitter-friendly ballpark.
Unfortunately, all of this exciting news off the field has shifted the focus of this column away from our beloved Boys of Summer, who had a rough week during a road trip down South. Why on Earth the New York-Penn League has teams below the Mason-Dixon Line is beyond our comprehension, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to travel to places like Bear City where our boys get cooked into a rabbit fricassee.
Our boys lost all three games in West Virginia and dropped two of three in Mahoning Valley.
The one win came in a 2–1 game with the Cyclones being held to two hits. Fortunately for Tom Gamboa’s squad, the Cyclones came into Tuesday’s series with Hudson Valley tied for first place in the division.
Gamboa was ejected from Thursday night’s game in West Virginia after umpire David Martinez called an automatic strike three on David Thompson to end the fifth inning. Gamboa threw two helmets and a bat on the field.
This came the night after John Magliozzi and Manuel Hilario were ejected.
Thanks to the tough road trip, Brooklyn is hovering at near-.500 and in a battle for first place with every team in the McNamara Division — including Aberdeen, Hudson Valley, and, of course, the hated Staten Island Yankees.
There are also some injuries to deal with as Blake Taylor and Matt Blackham will miss their next starts.
Brooklyn is still better than it was at this time last year. The 2014 Cyclones started 15–11 before an eight-game losing streak put them in a 15–19 hole.
