Suddenly, the Ducks have found their winning ways again
The Ducks' Hector Sanchez bats in a game against the West Virginia Power on July 14 at Fairfield Properties Ballpark. Credit: George A Faella
Eventually, the cream will rise. When it comes to the Atlantic League, the Ducks believe they are that cream, and it's high time that they awake from their late-summer nap.
If that storyline seams repetitive, it is. The Ducks struggle at the beginning of a half, look like a .500-team (sometimes, at best) then, like a switch that manager Wally Backman turns one, snap back like nothing was amiss.
The overall landscape suddenly wasn’t as it appeared. The Atlantic League was never really up for grabs. It was always the Ducks. Through the first two weeks of September, it’s beginning to look like that again.
Now, here the Ducks are, one month before the playoffs, dusting off a second-half-malaise. After a ho-hum start to the second half, they entered play Saturday winning six straight and seven of eight to climb above .500 and into a tie for first place in the Atlantic League North Division second half standings.
They’ve already clinched a playoff berth by winning the first-half championship, but adding the second-half title was a stated goal of Backman’s in early August.
"I think we're in a good frame of mind right now," Backman said Friday. "We're healthy. We’ve got a couple of little nagging injuries, but they'll definitely be healthy by the end. We're going to go into (the playoffs) 100% healthy. Again, we're going to expect to win."
Winning is in the DNA of the Backman Ducks. Since the former-Met took over before the 2019, they’ve never lost anything of significance. He’s 3-for-3 on half-season championships and 1-for-1 on Atlantic League titles.
Ducks manager Wally Backman watches players during open tryouts on May 15 at Fairfield Properties Ballpark. Credit: George A Faella
There’s reason to be confident.
"I think we have a really good team here," said outfielder/hitting coach Lew Ford. "We have gone through a rough patch, but we have good players. It was a matter of time before these guys would come out and perform at the level that they're capable of and start winning some games."
The bats have come alive in a big way over the last week. They’ve scored nine or more runs in five of their last eight games, entering Saturday – including a 20-run outburst last Sunday against the Lancaster Barnstormers. Friday night, they beat the Barnstormers 13-8 to open up a seven-game road trip.
This came after a relatively tough August where they had a streak of five losses in six games and another where they dropped five in a row.
Two weeks ago, Backman called a team meeting to discuss the offenses’ August woes with runners in scoring position. "I think they're more selective," Backman said of his hitters.
Said Ford: "We try to tell them to take better at-bats, but (also) try to know what the pitcher is trying to do, have an idea. It might not be the first pitch that comes in there that's the best one to hit with guys in scoring position. They may be trying to get you to chase a pitch or whatever it is."
"But I think the guys have done a better job at getting a better pitch to hit with runners in scoring position, or a better pitch just to score the runs," Ford said. "It doesn't always take a base hit to score a run. It takes maybe a fly ball or a ground ball up the middle."
On the seven-game home stand that ended Thursday night, five players with at least 10 at-bats hit over .300 and catcher Hector Sanchez, who missed time in August with an injury, hit .500 with three home runs and 12 RBIs in 17 plate appearances.
"We’re playing good baseball right now," Ford said. "We're in a good position right now. We continue to play well. Hopefully, we’ll continue that all the way to the playoffs."
The playoffs begin Oct. 11. The Ducks will host Game 1 of the best-of-3 opening round, then hit the road for the final game or two (if necessary).
Kelly takes short leave
Former Met Ty Kelly left the team to play for Team Israel in the European championships in Italy this week. He’ll return Sept. 20, Backman said. Kelly joined the Ducks in August after playing for Israel in the Olympics. He has a slash line of .250/.418/.367 with two RBIs in 21 games with the Ducks and can play virtually everywhere.
"If you've look at his defensive numbers, they're above average at every position he plays and they have been throughout his career," Backman said. "I really like him in centerfield. He can run, takes good routes. He can play third, short, second, first and all the outfield positions . . .and be reliable at all those positions."
