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Yankees challenge Cyclones for division lead

July 22, 2015 Jim Dolan

Photo courtesy of Jim Dolan

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The Staten Island-Brooklyn rivalry is back on this season as the Yankees have come back to tie the Cyclones for a 16-10 first place record over this past weekend for the division lead.

After a 14-5 start, the Brooklyn Cyclones have gone into “a rut” according to Manager Tom Gamboa, losing the McNamara Division lead that they recently held over the Staten Island Yankees. After losing five out of their last six games, the Cyclones have also dropped to last in the league in offense with a .221 team batting average.

Besides their hitting slump, the Cyclones are beginning to lose games on errors, with a team total of 35 errors, acknowledged Gamboa who admitted, “We’re at the bottom of league in defense.” Five errors during the Cyclones’ recent 9-3 loss to Aberdeen underscored this recent let-down on the field that Gamboa is looking to correct.

Discussing the team’s recent lack of hitting, Gamboa explained that his young players are not being selective enough at the plate and stated, “They’re swinging at everything.” The Brooklyn manager went on to say, “In this rut we have to do whatever it takes to win. It’s very frustrating when the pitching is so good and the offense doesn’t come through. We are preaching patience at the plate to get good pitches to hit.”

Although a number of Cyclones are in an offensive rut, second baseman Vinny Siena, the Mets 14^th round draft pick this season from UConn, has been provided the team some constant offense. Currently, Siena is leading the Cyclones with a .349 batting average with 11 walks and five stolen bases, hitting in 20 out of his last 23 games.

“Siena has done his part,” maintained Gamboa. “He’s off to a real good start and we like everything that we see about him – defensively, offensively and his instincts on the bases. He’s going to be a real nice addition to the Mets’ organization, a real good draft pick.”

With just a third of the season completed, Gamboa said of his team’s offense, “We not going to finish the way we are right now at the bottom of the pack; there’s better talent here than that.”