The Sports 'Burger

May 25 - May 28 Homestand: Reading Phillies

2012-05-25T19:30:00Z

Photo courtesy Joe Hermitt / The Patriot-News

Harrisburg Senators (25-21) vs. Reading Phillies (17-29)

Friday 7PM
Mike Ballard (1-3, 3.30) vs. RH Jonathan Pettibone (3-4, 3.59)
40-inch Flatscreens & Fireworks Friday Night
The Washington Nationals' Racing Presidents

Saturday 7PM
Paul Demny (3-2, 4.03) vs. RH Drew Naylor (3-1, 5.75)
Logo Baseballs Giveaway to the first 6,000 fans (3 and up)

Sunday 2PM
Jeff Mandel (4-3, 3.40) vs. RH Trevor May (5-2, 4.10)
Pre-game catch on the field prior to the game
Kids (12 and under) eat free

Monday 6PM
Danny Rosenbaum (6-0, 0.99) vs. RH David Buchanan (1-5, 4.73)
All military members, veterans and their families are able to purchase half-price tickets
Memorial Day Fireworks

Senators' Offensive Leaders

Chris Rahl .282/.329/.487, 30 R, 28 RBI, 6 HR, 13 SB
Tim Pahuta .263/.312/.463, 21 R, 22 RBI, 5 HR
Jesus Valdez .295/.321/.372, 13 R, 10 RBI

R-Phils' Offensive Leaders

Darin Ruf .342/.419/.534, 28 R, 33 RBI, 7 HR
Miguel Abreu .362/.371/.564, 16 R, 12 RBI
Cesar Hernandez .305/.352/.425, 23 R, 23 RBI, 8 SB

15 Years Later: Legace’s Meltdown Helped Turn Series in Bears Favor

2012-05-25T14:00:00Z

Coming off an emotional seven-game series against arch-rival Philadelphia, the Hershey Bears fell flat in games one and two of the 1997 Southern Conference Championship. The Bears lost both games at home to the Springfield Falcons by scores of 6-2 and 5-3. The hard fought series with the Phantoms seemed to have taken its toll on Hershey. The Bears’ Calder Cup aspirations were barely hanging on as the team headed to Springfield for a must-win game three.

Winger Steffon Walby gave the Bears a lead in the first period, but Hershey fell behind again. Springfield led 3-1 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game and Hershey was facing a 3-0 series deficit. Cory Banika took a pass from Doug Friedman and scored with 8:01 remaining in the 3rd period to bring the Bears within one. Banika’s goal set up a wild and crazy finish.

With goalie J.F. Labbe pulled for the extra attacker, captain Mike McHugh passed the puck from the left wing. Walby skated onto the pass and fired a pass past Springfield goalie Manny Legace on the glove side. Legace was irate and wanted the goal waved off because he was bumped. Legace was bumped by one of his teammates (with a little help form Bears forward Eric Veilleux) and the goal stood.

Legace’s anger and that of his teammates would grow late in regulation. The Falcons scored an apparent game-winning goal with 12 seconds remaining. Referee Denis Larue waved off the goal because of a Falcons player was in the crease. If the goal would have counted, the Bears would have lost the game and been down three games to none. Instead, the game remained tied and headed to overtime.

The Bears took advantage of their new life. Defenseman Rich Brennan took a feed from Veilleux and skated all alone. He dished to a wide open McHugh (pictured), who put the puck in on his second whack at it after fanning on his first shot. The Bears won the game 4-3 and more importantly, were back in the series.

The goal is not where the story of game three ends. After McHugh’s goal, Legace finally let his anger get the best of him. Feeling that Larue’s two decisions in the final minute cost his team the game, Legace went after the referee. Legace swing his stick and made contact with Larue. That would be Legace’s last act in the series. The American Hockey League would suspend Legace for 10 games.

Legace’s absence did not hurt the Falcons in game four, as Springfield rallied from a three-goal deficit to win 4-3 and put the Bears on the brink of elimination. Legace’s absence did hurt the Falcons in the final three games of the series. The Bears would dominate Springfield in games five and six, winning both games 4-1. With the momentum fully on their side, the Bears closed out the series with a 3-1 win in game seven and advanced to the Calder Cup finals.

Hershey would win the Calder Cup in five games over Hamilton. However, the Bears may not have gotten past Springfield if Legace would have kept his cool. Every championship team has a little luck and gets a few breaks on the way to their title. Legace’s meltdown was a major break for the 1997 Calder Cup champions Hershey Bears.

The Snooze Button: 5/25

2012-05-25T11:30:00Z

Every weekday morning we'll give you a collection of links called The Snooze Button which will have just enough Central PA sports news to occupy the first 9 minutes of your day.

• The PIAA state basketball championships are returning to Hershey and the Giant Center (P-N [Loh])

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• The City Islanders host the undefeated Rochester Rhinos tonight at Skyline Sports Complex (P-N [Bullock])

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• Weekend Roundup including Artsfest and The Pride of the Susquehanna launches for the season (SB)

Game 46: Curve 5, Senators 4

2012-05-25T02:00:00Z

Shortly after he awoke on Thursday morning, Senators' first baseman Tim Pahuta tweeted out

The only time you should set your alarm at 7:40am during baseball season is for a tee time... 10:30am game

Baseball players rely on routine and starting a game at 10:30 in the morning throws that routine off. The way the first inning went for Harrisburg starter Rob Gilliam he probably should have hit the snooze button a couple of more times.

Altoona plated five runs on four hits, two walks, and a sacrifice fly to put the Senators in a 5-1 hole after only one frame. It was a deficit the Senators would never overcome as they fell 5-4 to split the four-game series.

The Senators chipped away at the lead as they scored two runs in the fourth inning on a Destin Hood sacrifice fly and a Manny Mayorson single. They drew within a run in the eighth inning and loaded the bases in the ninth but Sean Nicol's two-out, full count drive was flagged down by Altoona rightfielder Miles Durham to end the rally and the game.

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• After the first inning debacle, Gilliam settled down and threw five more innings holding the Curve hitless

• Former Senator Shairon Martis earned the win for Altoona running his Double-A record to 3-0 on the season

• Someone tell me what Eury Perez was trying to accomplish in the fifth inning when he tried to bunt for a base hit with two outs? That wouldn't be so bad by itself, but the Senators set up a scoring opportunity when a batter earlier Gilliam sacrificed Chris McConnell to second base.

The Sports 'Burger Star of the Game: Manny Mayorson

The Snooze Button: 5/24

2012-05-24T11:30:00Z

Every weekday morning we'll give you a collection of links called The Snooze Button which will have just enough Central PA sports news to occupy the first 9 minutes of your day.

*Photo courtesy Kyle Mace / SHoE*

• A couple of big announcements from the Bears as coaches Mark French (pictured) and Troy Mann will return next season and the Capitals extended their affiliate agreement (P-N [Leone], SHoE [Mills], HBHB, LDN [Fidler])

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• Josh Johnson trying to catch his big league dream (Federal Baseball)

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• Former Penn State coach Jay Paterno will be the guest speaker at today's Travers Award luncheon (P-N)

Game 44: Senators 5, Curve 3 & Game 45: Senators 3, Curve 2

2012-05-24T02:00:00Z

Game 1

On a day when Danny Rosenbaum was more Clark Kent than Superman, the Senators' offense delivered in key situations and they topped the Altoona Curve 5-3 in the first game of the early morning double dip.

For the first time this year, Rosenbaum struggled with his command but worked out of numerous jams as he went 5.2 innings and surrendered season-highs in seven hits and three earned runs.

Tim Pahuta put the Senators up 2-1 in the fourth inning with a line-drive home run over the batter's eye in centerfield. It was a lead they would never relinquish as they tacked on two more runs in the fifth and another in the sixth.

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• Rosenbaum drove in his second run of the season (both at The Fart in Altoona) when he collected his first hit since high school

• Christian Garcia allowed two inherited runners to score but picked up his sixth save on the season

• Destin Hood was a late scratch from the lineup and did not appear in either game

• Rosenbaum walked three batters in a game for the first time all season

• The Senators scored their fifth and final run when Altoona first baseman Matt Curry threw the ball into the crowd after catching a foul pop he mistakenly thought was the final out of the inning

The Sports 'Burger Star of the Game: Tim Pahuta

Game 2

In the nightcap, Curve fans got a harsh reminder that the minor leagues are ultimately about player development and not wins or losses. Trailing 3-2 with the tying run on second base and one out in the bottom of the fifth inning, Altoona manager P.J. Forbes chose to send starting pitcher Brandon Cumpton to the plate instead of a pinch-hitter.

It was a decision based solely on Cumpton getting more pitches in his outing, not on winning the baseball game.

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• Ryan Tatusko made the spot start so the Senators' rotation could stay on track

• Catcher Devin Ivany pulled off the almost unheard of unassisted caught stealing when he ran Robbie Grossman down between first and second base after Grossman wandered into no man's land

• It was announced that the Trenton makeup game from April 22nd has been rescheduled as part of a doubleheader on Friday, July 27th

The Sports 'Burger Star of the Game: Pat McCoy

The Snooze Button: 5/23

2012-05-23T11:30:00Z

Every weekday morning we'll give you a collection of links called The Snooze Button which will have just enough Central PA sports news to occupy the first 9 minutes of your day.

*Photo courtesy Harrisburg City Islanders*

	• Behind second-half goals by Yann Ekra (pictured) and Brian Ombiji, the City Islanders topped the Long Island Rough Riders 2-0 to advance in the U.S. Open Cup (P-N [Bullock])
	• Congratulations to USL PRO Player of the Week Yann Ekra and Andrew Marshall and Sainey Touray who also earned first team honors (USL PRO)

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	• The 2012-13 schedule was released for the Penn State men's hockey team's first year of play in Division I (TYT, Onward State [Balis], P-N [Pickel])
	• Rob Bolden's high school coach has come out and said the Penn State QB is staying put in State College (BSD [Edwards])

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• Today is the last day to sign up for the HYP Summer Kickball season (HYP)

Game 43: Curve 4, Senators 2

2012-05-22T18:00:00Z

Costly errors were the theme of the night as the Senators’ one made the difference over the Curve’s two in a 4-2 Altoona victory.

Altoona drew first blood in the second inning when they scored a run off Harrisburg starter Jeff Mandel on a Miles Durham groundout. The Senators would even the score back up in the fourth when they capitalized on two Curve throwing errors. Unfortunately for the Senators it wasn’t the last of the miscues on the evening.

In the sixth inning, Altoona loaded the bases with one out on a single, double, and intentional walk. Mandel beared down and induced what should have been an inning-ending double play ball, however the grounder shot right through Manny Mayorson’s legs at third base and the Curve plated two on the error.

Jose Lozada led the Senators’ with three hits, including a triple, and scored a run.

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• The win marked Altoona’s seventh straight victory

• Jeff Karstens threw three scoreless innings for the Curve to start the game as part of his MLB rehab

The Sports 'Burger Star of the Game: Jose Lozada

The Snooze Button: 5/22

2012-05-22T11:00:00Z

Every weekday morning we'll give you a collection of links called The Snooze Button which will have just enough Central PA sports news to occupy the first 9 minutes of your day.

• Former Bears' captain Brad Larsen was named head coach of the AHL's Springfield Falcons (MassLive [Brown], AHL)

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• Looking back at some great moments for the City Islanders in the past U.S. Open Cups as this year's squad is set to square off tonight in the first round against the Long Island Rough Riders (Upper 90 [Meluzio])

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• The Revs signed former big leaguer (and Syndrome doppleganger) Bobby Kielty (YDR [Seip])

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• The 2015 & 2016 Big Ten football schedules were released (NLD, BSD [Pettigano])

Game 42: Senators 4, Baysox 0

2012-05-21T18:30:00Z

Photo courtesy Harrisburg Senators' Grounds Crew

Paul Demny threw the best game of his professional career and Tim Pahuta and Chris Rahl slugged fourth-inning home runs for the Senators to salvage the last game of their weekend series with the Bowie Baysox, 4-0.

Demny threw eight shutout innings allowing only two hits and three walks while striking out four. It was as impressive and commanding of performance as Senators' fans have seen from the redhead this year. Christian Garcia relieved in the ninth inning and worked around a leadoff single and walk to finish the rare victory at home for Harrisburg.

The Senators were held hitless by Bowie starter Bobby Bundy until the fourth inning when Jose Lozada singled to left field to get the team off the schneid. Pahuta followed with a drive into the Senators' bullpen for his fourth homerun of the season. One batter later, Chris Rahl would hit his own homerun, his team-leading sixth, and that would be all the runs the Senators would need on the day.

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• Pahuta and Rahl's home runs were the first the team has hit since May 2nd

• Attendance for the series was 19,523 which set the all-time Metro Bank Park record for a three-game series

• After getting beaned on the back of his glove hand on Saturday night, Eury Perez sat out as a precaution but was available to pinch-run or field

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Manager Matt LeCroy

...on Demny

I think he's gaining some confidence. He's our young pitcher and every time out he seems to be getting better and more composed. He's a guy who earlier in his career, stuff would make him get rattled but he's maturing and settling down and realizing when to back off. Last year, if you saw him from the first half to the second half and then at the end of the year, he was my best pitcher. He wanted to pitch in the big games and I think it's starting to carry over.

...on Demny's reaction to Bumbry's leadoff double

"I think sometimes in the past that would have rattled him but he did an awesome job of keeping that guy from scoring. I think that was the biggest part as a confidence booster right there."

Paul Demny

...on Bumbry's leadoff double

"It's a theme of the past. I used to see that as, 'OK, my stuff's not working today.' I threw one pitch and I immediately go, 'Alright, I need to change something quick.' In the past, I would tend to pich scared. I'd start to throw a lot of off-speed, going away from hitters trying to get beat that way and doing it the wrong way instead of going out there and challenging them...It used to bother me. I know that even if he scores I've still got to stay in this game to give my team a chance to win. One run wasn't going to win the ballgame today."

...on the mound conference with then interim manager Pat Corrales a little over two weeks ago

"Pat shoots it straight. I mean he's not going to come out there and say, 'Hey man, you're doing great. Keep it up,' after I give up a home run. No. He came out there and said, 'You can choose to change it now if you stop pitching scared or you can possibly find yourself on your couch eating chips one day five years from now wondering what the heck happened. Don't wait until next start. Do it now.'"

...on catcher Devin Ivany

"If you look at the games that he's caught, we might be losing but that's just because we didn't score enough runs that day. He calls a great game. I'm barely shaking him off to give him something to do back there. Just give me something else so he's not totally right. It's like a wife, she can't be right all of the time."

The Sports 'Burger Star of the Game: Paul Demny

The Snooze Button: 5/21

2012-05-21T12:00:00Z

Every weekday morning we'll give you a collection of links called The Snooze Button which will have just enough Central PA sports news to occupy the first 9 minutes of your day.

*Photo courtesy Harrisburg City Islanders*

• Behind a hat trick by Yann Ekra and a shutout by Nick Noble, the City Islanders topped the Dayton Dutch Lions 4-0 (P-N [Bullock], USL PRO)

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	• Congratulations to Tommy Olcyzk who was named ACHA Rookie of the Year (TYT)
	• Rumors have Rob Bolden again considering a transfer and Curtis Drake dismissed from the team (BSD [Pettigano], VBR [Tolley])

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• Senators Notebook looking at Danny Rosenbaum's impressive start to the season, 2013 schedule questions, and an organizational look at the closers (P-N [Morrow])

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• The Assault ran their record to 5-1 with an impressive 20-0 win over the Philadelphia Liberty Belles and secured a division title (Assault)

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• The Stampede suffered ther first loss of the season as they fell to the Cape Fear Heroes 57-32 (Stampede)

Game 41: Baysox 2, Senators 1

2012-05-20T03:45:00Z

Photo courtesy Harrisburg Senators

If a team is blown out 14-1, it's easy to shake off the outcome and look forward to tomorrow. But when a team loses 2-1 after failing to take advantage of numerous opportunities like the Harrisburg Senators did in front of 7,604 fans on Saturday night, well that's a much tougher pill to swallow.

In both the seventh and eighth innings Harrisburg had the tying run on third base with one out and couldn't get him home as Devin Ivany grounded out to the drawn in infield and Jesus Valdez popped up to the catcher in foul territory. The Baysox also committed a grand total of four errors and the Senators could only capitalize once when Destin Hood scored the lone run after a Chris Rahl groundball trickled past Bowie third baseman Zealous Wheeler.

A night of "what might have beens" overshadowed the outstanding game Mike Ballard threw as he went seven strong innings. Ballard's only blemish on the night was a two-run home run to Caleb Joseph in the fourth inning that proved to be too much to overcome. After that he retired the next 11 batters before yielding to Erik Davis for the final two innings.

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• The 2-1 final marked the eighth loss in the Senators' last nine home games

• Eury Perez was hit on his glove hand with a pitch and the staff will re-evaluate his status tomorrow

• Congratulations if you had home plate umpire Andy Dudones in your Eastern League Ejection Fantasy League as he tossed Baysox manager Gary Kendall in the eighth inning

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Manager Matt LeCroy

...on their recent offensive struggles

"You've got to score more than one run a game and we haven't been able to do that lately."

...on their lack of clutch hitting

"In order for us to be successful, we have to situational hit. We haven't been good here lately getting guys in from third. We put ourselves in a situation to tie the ballgame up and if we execute those two plays we are up a run...Hitting-wise we had the right guys up and didn't execute and that's part of this game that you have to figure out to get the stuff done and if you can't, you got to let somebody else give it a chance...That's the beauty of this ballgame that you have to get it done even if you're not hitting well."

...on starter Mike Ballard

"He's a big asset to our club because he's got a chance to run through lineups because he's a soft thrower that can command the ball...He gave us a chance to win the ballgame. A solid, solid, solid effort. I was very proud of him especially after he exited early against Akron."

The Sports 'Burger Star of the Game: Mike Ballard

Game 40: Baysox 9, Senators 3

2012-05-19T03:30:00Z

Photo courtesy @mtorio2014

Whoever came up with the phrase "Home Sweet Home" never met the 2012 edition of the Harrisburg Senators. For a team that has played to a league-best 16-7 on the road, it's difficult to explain how poorly this Harrisburg team has played at home on City Island this season.

Friday night their troubles at Metro Bank Park continued as the Bowie Baysox topped the Senators 9-3 in front of a season-high 6,872 fans. The game marked the seventh loss out of the last eight home games for the Senators in a stretch that has seen them outscored 43-22.

The Baysox jumped on starter Rob Gilliam early as they plated a run in each of the first three innings. After that he managed to put goose eggs up on the board for the middle three innings, but Bowie continued putting good swings on his pitches and hitting the ball hard. That offensive energy carried over and steamrolled Ryan Tatusko's relief appearance for six runs in the final three frames and put the game out of reach.

Harrisburg would plate two runs in the ninth inning, but by then those did very little to cut into the deficit or to soften the blow of another mediocre performance at home.

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• Manny Mayorson was activated off the DL and made his Senators' debut after missing the first 39 games of the season

• The Baysox two home runs brings their season total to 31 with an astounding 23 of them being solo shots

• Apparently there is lots of Bawlmer love for the Flacco family as Joe's brother, Mike, pinch hit in the top of the ninth inning for Bowie

• Pitching coach Paul Menhart is away from the team over the weekend to celebrate his daughter's graduation at home

The Sports 'Burger Star of the Game: Jesus Valdez

May 18-May 20 Homestand: Bowie Baysox

2012-05-18T20:00:00Z

Photo courtesy Harrisburg Senators

Harrisburg Senators (22-17) vs. Bowie Baysox (15-24)

The Senators have issued an advisory that parking will be extremely limited on City Island this weekend, so they are encouraging fans to show up early or plan on parking elsewhere (just not at Duke's or Dockside Willie's) and walk to the game.

Friday 7PM
Rob Gilliam (1-3, 4.70) vs. RH Zach Clark (2-3, 4.12)
40-inch Flatscreens & Fireworks Friday Night
Halloween Night - The Senators will sport the Halloween-themed uniforms (above) which will be auctioned off after the game to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network

Saturday 7PM
Mike Ballard (1-2, 3.44) vs. RH Tim Bascom (2-2, 4.87)
Bryce Harper Youth Jersey Giveaway to the first 1,000 kids (12 and under)

Sunday 2PM
Paul Demny (2-2, 4.91) vs. RH Bobby Bundy (2-6, 5.27)
Pre-game catch on the field prior to the game
Kids (12 and under) eat free

Senators' Offensive Leaders

Chris Rahl .289/.338/.489, 28 R, 24 RBI, 5 HR, 12 SB
Tim Pahuta .275/.331/.463, 17 R, 19 RBI, 3 HR
Jeff Kobernus .303/.333/.358, 25 R, 7 RBI, 25 SB

Baysox Offensive Leaders

Brandon Waring .281/.399/.523, 25 R, 16 RBI, 6 HR
Antoan Richardson .313/.429/.375, 12 R, 5 SB
L.J. Hoes .286/.379/.395, 19 R, 14 RBI

Game 39: Flying Squirrels 1, Senators 0 (14)

2012-05-18T19:00:00Z

Photo courtesy Richmond Times-Dispatch

In a matchup that didn't disappoint between arguably the best two pitchers in the Eastern League, Thursday night's 14-inning game ultimately came down to a reliever (Marcos Frias) who couldn't find the strike zone. Frias, the Senators' fourth pitcher of the night, walked the winning run home to give Richmond the 1-0 victory after already surrendering three free passes earlier in the inning.

Billed as a heavyweight pitcher's duel between the league's best two ERAs, Harrisburg's Danny Rosenbaum and Richmond's Chris Heston traded zero for zero until both starters were pulled for pinch hitters in the eighth inning. From there it was more of the same from both bullpens as they held the game in a 0-0 deadlock until the meltdown in the bottom of the 14th inning.

The scorecard on the night was dominated with lots of 0-fers as the Senators only managed six hits and Jesus Valdez was the lone batter to register two.

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• A walkoff walk? That can only mean a shrimp running on a treadmill.

• The Senators are now winless in four extra-inning games this season

• Beau Seabury made his Senators' debut for the last two pitches after Devin Ivany was ejected

• Neither team advanced a runner to third base all night until Eury Perez was stranded there in the top of the 14th inning

• The New York Yankees claimed one-time Senator Matt Antonelli who had been placed on waivers by the Orioles' organization

The Sports 'Burger Star of the Game: Danny Rosenbaum

The Snooze Button: 5/18

2012-05-18T12:30:00Z

Every weekday morning we'll give you a collection of links called The Snooze Button which will have just enough Central PA sports news to occupy the first 9 minutes of your day.

*Photo courtesy Marty Heisey / Lancaster Newspapers*

• Congratulations to Butch Hobson who notched his 1500th victory in his managerial career (Barnstormers)

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• Q&A with Cedar Cliff's Adam Brenaman (P-N [Shay])

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• At the Senators' game tonight, Andy Linker will be signing copies of his great new book, One Patch of Grass, documenting the rich history of baseball on City Island (P-N [Morrow])

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• Harrisburg native LeSean McCoy signed a five-year extension with the Philadelphia Eagles worth $45 million (700 Level [Kulp])

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• Weekend roundup including Greek Festival (yay loukoumades!!) and 3rd in the Burg (SB)

Mayflies & Big Flies: Out of Left Field with Tyler Moore

2012-05-17T17:45:09Z

Photo courtesy Toni L. Sandys / The Washington Post

We recently had the opportunity to catch up with Tyler Moore one week after the former Senator made his Major League debut against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. We spoke with him the day after the Nationals defeated the Phillies 4-3 with a walk-off single by Wilson Ramos in the 11th inning in the first game of their Take Back the Park weekend.

The Sports 'Burger: When did you find out you were getting the call? Take me through that whole process.

Tyler Moore: Man, it was crazy. Tony Beasley called me about 12:30 at night and said, "Hey, T-Mo, you're going up. Congratulations! But you need to pack all of your stuff because you're making a flight at 6 AM to California." So, I pack up all of my stuff and I have to meet a cab driver at 4 am at the Chiefs' field. I don't get done packing until around 3, so I don't even attempt to go to sleep. Get to the airport and I can't sleep on the plane because I really don't like to fly. Finally, I get to California without any sleep that night and I text Lombo to make sure I'm not in the lineup. I'm probably not playing but just check because I'm not be there for the first pitch. I show up and I got about 30 minutes until the game starts. Right when I walked out of the dugout they said, "Hey you're probably starting in left." And I said, "You got to be kidding me." I was very happy to start but at the same time nerve-racked. I was able to actually hit a couple of rounds of BP, play the game, and after I caught one flyball out in left I was fine. It was just an unbelievable experience. The crowd there was great. A bunch of history in that stadium and I'm just blessed to be a part of that.

TSB: Did you have enough time to get any family out there?

TM: No, I barely had time to fill them in that I was even playing. But I wouldn't change it for anything. I'm glad they just kind of threw me out there, so I didn't have really any time to think about it.

TSB: Any different than the same baseball you've played since you were eight years old?

TM: Same baseball. Just a lot, a lot more people. As you saw last night, it was a packed house like 40,000 and it was great. It just makes the excitment a little more.

TSB: Talk a little bit about Beas and Troy (Gingrich) being at Syracuse this year and how it helped you getting continuous guidance with those guys as you moved up to that level.

TM: Oh yeah, it helped. I think me and Harp and couple of more guys came from Double-A to there. It just helps the adjustment process go a lot easier. I know what Troy is going to do and he probably knows my swing better than I do. You couldn't ask for two better people on the coaching staff and I get to work with them everyday and it was great. That's something that I'll never forget.

*Photo courtesy US Presswire*

TSB: If eyes weren't already opened, you did that in spring training and that's probably why you got the call now. What was that experience like to prove to yourself that you belonged?

TM: It was great. It was my first time to be around big leaguers everyday and getting the gist of everything that was going to happen and that needs to happen. It was great for me to see that everyday, day in and day out. It was great exposure and I was fortunate enough to play in some games before getting sent back down to Triple-A.

TSB: You mentioned earlier about playing left field and you had three games out there under your belt in Syracuse before you got the call in Washington. Talk about the work that Bo (Porter) and Tony (Tarasco) have done with you in terms of your transition.

TM: They've been great. They've been very patient with me. I probably ask them all kinds of questions all of the time. They've been unbelievable to me. I get more comfortable every time I get out there and I'm not going to make the unbelievable Sportscenter play but I'll try to make the routine. Just knowing where to go with the ball and knowing lefty slices coming off the bat to get a better read instead of just jumping towards the ball...that's what I'm leaning towards getting better at.

TSB: What about this core group that is here now? For the most part it's all guys that have come up through the minors...Desmond, Espinosa, Lombo, Harper. This is a team that has kind of grown up together.

TM: Our minor league system I would put it up against anyone else. They draft good and once they get drafted they teach them everything. The guys down there are unbelievable as people and as coaches. It's just fun to be a part of. It's fun to be a Nat right now. You can just tell that this city is starting to turn it on.

Thanks to Tyler for taking the time out of his busy schedule to talk with us and to Terry Byrom and John Dever for arranging the interview.

The Snooze Button: 5/17

2012-05-17T11:30:00Z

Every weekday morning we'll give you a collection of links called The Snooze Button which will have just enough Central PA sports news to occupy the first 9 minutes of your day.

*Photo courtesy USL PRO*

	• The City Islanders and Pittsburgh Riverhounds played to a scoreless draw despite a bunch of second-half chances (P-N [Bullock])
	• Hersheypark Stadium was announced as the venue for the annual exhibition game against the Philadelphia Union on June 12th (Upper 90 [Meluzio], CBS 21 [Bristol])

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• At the Pittsburgh stop of the Coaches Caravan, both Bill O'Brien and Guy Gadowsky backed an outdoor game at Beaver Stadium (Daily Collegian [Bittner])

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• Quarterback EJ Nemeth is cutting off all of his hair with the proceeds from the auction going to the Easter Seals of Central PA (Stampede)

Game 38: Senators 3, Flying Squirrels 1

2012-05-17T03:00:00Z

Photo courtesy Joe Mahoney / Richmond Times-Dispatch

Good teams execute the fundamentals and usually come out on top because of it. On Wednesday night at The Diamond in Richmond, the Senators turned three double plays while the Flying Squirrels committed three errors. When the Senators needed to drop a sacrifice bunt down in the ninth inning, Chris McConnell did it perfectly and advanced Stephen King into scoring position. Good teams do the little things well and the Senators were the better team on Wednesday night.

Sure, outhitting the Flying Squirrels 11 to 4 didn't hurt either.

Behind another double-digit outburst of hits and a stellar start by Jeff Mandel, the Senators won their fifth straight game, a 3-1 victory over Richmond. Eury Perez was the offensive hero of the night as he stroked four hits and drove in two runs. Hector Nelo notched his third save of the season.

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• In his last six games, Perez is 11 for his last 22 with six RBIs

• Former Senator Claudio Vargas is coming out of retirement to pitch for the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate in Nashville

The Sports 'Burger Star of the Game: Eury Perez

Game 37: Senators 4, Flying Squirrels 2

2012-05-16T18:30:00Z

Photo courtesy Richmond Times-Dispatch

I love watching National League baseball for the cat and mouse games that managers have to make with the pitcher hitting ninth in the batting order. Rarely do you see those kinds of moves in the second inning of a game, but that's exactly what happened Tuesday night in Richmond as Senators' manager Matt LeCroy and Flying Squirrels' manager Dave Machemer tried to outthink the other.

Hitting out of the number six spot in the lineup, Devin Ivany led off the inning with a standup double to right field. LeCroy chose to next bunt Jose Lozada to get Ivany to third base with one out, but Machemer countered with an intentional walk to Sean Nicol to bring up the pitcher's spot with men on first and third.

From the third base coaches' box, LeCroy quickly spoke with hitting coach Eric Fox who passed the message on to Paul Demny before he took his place at the plate. What would LeCroy have Demny do in this situation? Bunt? Leave the bat on his shoulder to avoid the double play? Make sure he ran his ass off if he did hit it?

LeCroy chose option A, the sacrifice bunt. And I would say he was committed to his choice because he stuck with it even after Demny fouled the first two pitches off. Fortunately, Demny was able to get his next attempt down and he successfully moved Nicol into scoring position at second base.

There's a thin line as a manager looking like a genius and looking like a doofus. In this case, it came down to one batter (Eury Perez) and one pitch (an 0-2 offering from Richmond starter Craig Westcott) that determined which group LeCroy fell into on this night. Perez dumped a single into right field that scored both runs, staking the Senators to an early 2-0 lead, and giving LeCroy the upper hand on the managerial battles that would eventually win the ~~war~~ game, 4-2.

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• Paul Demny took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and at point retired 13 in a row before being touched up for two runs in the inning.

• Tim Pahuta collected his 18th and 19th RBIs of the season when he plated the winning runs on a one-out triple into the right-centerfield gap in the eighth inning.

• There was a delay in the ninth inning with two outs as the bank of outfield lights went out at The Diamond. 14 minutes later, Christian Garcia struck out Chris Dominguez on three pitches to seal his fifth save of the season.

• Prior to the game, James Skelton was promoted to Triple-A Syracuse and catcher Beau Seabury was called up from Potomac to take his place on the roster.

The Sports 'Burger Star of the Game: Paul Demny