Ducks on mission to contend for title

Between the pie-eating contest, inflatable bouncing houses and prize raffles among the festivities on a balmy Father's Day at Bethpage Ballpark, fans might have overlooked the baseball being played. They're having fun between the lines, too.

The Ducks, who are rebounding strongly after a disappointing 2010 season in the independent Atlantic League, are off to their hottest start in years. A 6-0 win over the Road Warriors Sunday capped a three-game sweep and moved the Ducks to 18-5 at home this year.

"We're finding ways to win," first-year manager Kevin Baez said. "We're staying positive and confident and going out there expecting to win."

After missing the playoffs last season for the first time in seven years, the Ducks (29-15) have soared out of the gate, winning 14 of 17 games in June. And with a 21/2-game lead in the Liberty Division, the team has hopes of winning its first league title since 2004.

Baez, a former infielder who played in 63 games for the Mets from 1990-93, was hired in November and has added life to a team with 11 former big-leaguers. The roster also was crafted with speed and flexibility in mind -- homage to the philosophy of their bench coach, former Mets manager Bud Harrelson, and his small-ball mentality.

"We started with a nucleus of guys that could hit for average and some pop and filled it in with speed around them," president and general manager Michael Pfaff said. "We really like the well-rounded nature of our team."

That energy and spunk was on display Sundayas the Ducks hit two triples and three doubles and came through with runners in scoring position. They also received another dazzling start by righthander Mike Loree, 27, who allowed only three hits and struck out nine to improve to 7-1 with a 1.82 ERA.

"It's been a ton of fun," said Loree, the leader of a staff with a 3.71 ERA. "We're definitely all feeding off each other."

There have been some unsung surprises along the way, too, such as Hicksville native Kraig Binick, who was leading the Atlantic League with a .388 average entering Sunday. Binick, 26, who played for Chaminade and New York Institute of Technology, began the season as the Ducks' fifth outfielder. But injuries enabled him to move into a starting role.

"Now it's tough to keep him out of the lineup," Baez said.

Recently, there has been talk about owner Frank Boulton's interest in owning another baseball team in Nassau County. Should that occur, it would be an Atlantic League expansion team, or perhaps a team in a different league. The Ducks have a long-term lease on Bethpage Ballpark with Suffolk County.

"It's almost like the guys in the clubhouse won't allow this team to lose or allow each other to fail," said second baseman Ray Navarrete, in his sixth season as a Duck. "It's something that you don't find very often."