Jason Scobie 3-4, 7.67 ERA		TBA

As the Barnstormers reach the official midpoint of the season, let’s take a look back at their first half history.

2005: 27-43
2006: 38-25
2007: 29-34
2008: 30-40
2009: 33-37

Although the team showed improvement in manager Von Hayes’ second season at the helm, it wasn’t enough to get over .500 or be a legitimate contender in the Freedom Division. In fact, the Barnstormers haven’t had a winning record in any half since the end of the 2006 season. Their best record since then was 34-36 in the second half of 2008.

Will that trend change over the next 10 weeks? The recent trends are encouraging. The Barnstormers are 3-1 on this road trip, including two come-from-behind victories when they trailed by five runs or more. Those are the kinds of wins the team didn’t earn before this trip started.

The next seven days, crazy as it may sound, could be pivotal in determining the team’s second-half chances. The Barnstormers play seven road games against Newark and Long Island and they need to avoid falling into an immediate hole like they have in the recent past. The rest of this trip marks 10 percent of the second half schedule. If the Barnstormers can get through this stretch with a winning record, they will greatly enhance their chances because they have 36 of their final 63 games at home.

The Freedom Division looks wide open. Much was made of York’s improvement toward the end of the first half, but that may be a bit overstated. Yes, the Revs took three of four from the Barnstormers at the Clip last weekend, but they ended the half with three consecutive losses and are 8-7 over their last 15 games. They’re better but they’re not exactly setting the world on fire. They were 24-46 in the first half, which was the worst one-half record by a non-Road Warriors team since 2006.

Newark, meanwhile, created a lot of buzz with all its big league signings and its 14-5 record out of the gate. The Bears have fizzled since then. They are 21-30 over their last 51 games and their roster isn’t nearly as imposing as it was when they played in Lancaster on opening day.

A playoff spot is there for the taking. Neither Lancaster, York nor Newark has established itself as a real favorite, but one of them is likely headed to the postseason. We’ll spend the next 70 games figuring out which one.

Throughout the rest of the season, I’m going to put together some personal diaries for LancasterBarnstormers.com. Players and coaches will tell stories about their careers in first person form and we’ll relay those on the Web site.

The first entry centers on manager Von Hayes, who talked about playing for the Phillies in 1983. He was a new addition to the team via a controversial 5-for-1 trade and he found himself surrounded by some of the greatest players in baseball history: Pete Rose, Mike Schmidt, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez and Steve Carlton. Even though the team reached the World Series, it was a tough season for Hayes.

Here’s a snippet:

“Back then I was coming off a very good year as a rookie. I was very confident, very cocky. It didn’t take long for a guy like Pete Rose to put me right in my place.

It’s an interesting look back through the eyes of a former major league all-star. Click here to read the entire diary.

	Zack Parker 0-2, 3.29 ERA		Jake Dittler 2-4, 6.00 ERA

The Barnstormers’ long road trip continues in Central Islip tonight. Lancaster has eight games remaining on this journey, including four at the Long Island Ducks and four against Newark. This was originally scheduled as an off day for the team to prepare for the second half. A rainout on June 20 forced a makeup game.

With Matt Watson in the outfield Wednesday, we got our first glimpse of the new-look Barnstormers lineup. It was …

Lloyd Turner, SS
Mike Woods, CF
Matt Watson, LF
L.J. Biernbaum, DH
Jed Morris, C
Ryan Mulhern, 1B
Aaron Herr, 3B
Michael Campbell, RF
David Housel, 2B

Eventually, the Barnstormers would like to move Biernbaum to the outfield to open up the DH spot for either the second catcher, in this case Gerard Haran, or either Bryan Sabatella or Mulhern. 2B Danny Bravo will slide back into his starting role when he’s activated from the DL. He’s out with a hamstring injury. When everyone is available, the lineup looks deep enough to contend in the second half.

The Barnstormers will not be at full strength this weekend. Woods did not accompany the team to Long Island because of a death in the family.

Zack Parker continues his search for his elusive first win tonight. He only has two decisions in 12 starts despite ranking 10th in the league in ERA. The rest of this trip, which marks the end of the first half tonight and the first seven games of the second half, will be a test for the Barnstormers. They are a combined 5-14 against Newark and Long Island this season.

Matt Watson talked about his future and why he signed with the Barnstormers in an interview at LancasterBarnstormers.com. Here’s a snippet:

I don’t think my career is over. I’d like to make it back to the big leagues. But I’m a realist. I think the odds may be slim to get back there. I think I could get back to Asia and do well. But I want to see if it’s still enjoyable playing, to see if it’s something I choose to do for a career or whether it’s time to turn the page.

The outfielder went 1-for-4 with a triple in his first start today. Click here to read his entire interview.

	Eric Ackerman 3-5, 3.34 ERA		Ryan Bicondoa 6-2, 4.46 ERA

TODAY’S BOX SCORE (pdf file)

BREAKING NEWS: Tommy John steps down as Bluefish manager.

After starting the season 0-28 when trailing after seven innings, the Barnstormers have put together back-to-back come-from-behind victories. They go for the three-game sweep of the Liberty Division champs today. This is the first road series the Barnstormers have won against an opponent other than York this season.

OF Matt Watson will make his first start and is batting third.

IN OTHER NEWS:

*P Scott Patterson will represent the Pacific Coast League in the Triple-A All-Star Game. The righthander is 2-2 with a 2.65 ERA in 35 appearances for the Padres’ affiliate in Portland.

*P Joe D’Alessandro is now playing for Wichita in the American Association. He was traded from the Barnstormers to Washington in the Frontier League last month.

	Ben Fritz 3-4, 3.49 ERA		Keith Ramsey 7-6, 4.01 ERA*

*2008 Atlantic League statistics

The Barnstormers have signed OF Matt Watson in an effort to bolster their lineup for the second half. The McCaskey High graduate and ex-big leaguer is with the team but is not in the lineup tonight. To make room for Watson on the 25-man roster, the team placed P Eric Junge on the inactive list and 2B Danny Bravo on the disabled list.

Check out his career stats.

With their offense fizzling toward the end of the first half, the Barnstormers felt they needed additional power, particularly from the left side. Watson should be able to provide some. The 5-11, 205-pound outfielder started the season in Korea and was briefly with the Mets, shuttling to three affiliates, before getting released. He batted .267 in 10 games.

This addition, along with the return of OF L.J. Biernbaum, will deepen the Barnstormers’ lineup. It will allow Jed Morris and Gerard Haran to drop a couple of spots in the order and it will give the team more options so it doesn’t have to play both catchers every single game. Manager Von Hayes said he plans to use Watson in either the No. 3 or cleanup spot.

Watson was impressive in his batting practice sessions at Clipper Magazine Stadium last week. He said he wants to use this stint with the Barnstormers as a chance to have fun playing baseball again. The former 16th-round draft pick had offers from big-league organizations to play at the Double-A level. He turned them down in order to play close to his home in Lancaster.

“I’m just looking forward to getting back to playing,” Watson said this morning. “That’s what Lancaster means to me. I want to be around my family. My oldest boy (Landon) is starting school in September. It’ll be nice to relieve some of his anxiety. I’m looking forward to those kinds of things.

“I came home (from the Mets) and I felt like I haven’t played much this year. I felt like it was a waste of a year until I realized it was only July. There’s still quite a bit of baseball left to be played. It’ll be nice to get some in this year.”

	Trey Hodges 1-3, 4.02 ERA		Keith Ramsey 7-6, 4.01 ERA*

The Barnstormers begin their longest road trip of the season tonight. It’s a 11-game journey that includes three in Southern Maryland, four on Long Island and four in Newark. It will also mark the end of the first half, which is Thursday, and the new beginning everyone has been waiting for since late May.

Is the team poised for a second-half turnaround? The series against York wasn’t encouraging. The Barnstormers dropped the final three games by a combined score of 24-7. The defense was shaky at times, the offense remained in a funk and the bullpen failed to close out a win on Sunday.

The Barnstormers haven’t played well for the last two weeks. They are 3-8 since the all-star break and their offense has only managed 29 runs in the last 10 games. There is good news on that front. Outfielder L.J. Biernbaum, the team’s top hitter when healthy, is expected to return to the lineup as the DH tonight. It will be his first appearance since June 7. He was out with a neck injury.

The team is trying to figure out the closer situation during life without Ryan Cullen. It’s possible that Nick Abel, who has pitched five shutout innings with a .211 batting average against in the Atlantic League, could get a chance in save situations. The 6-4, 215-pound righthander has 12 career saves and has shown above-average stuff since his arrival.

The starting rotation remains in good shape. The projected five – Eric Junge, Ben Fritz, Trey Hodges, Zack Parker and Eric Ackerman – is a combined 11-14 with a 3.30 ERA as starters this season. Hodges will make his first start since May 22 tonight, so we’ll see how he fares coming off a back injury.

Southern Maryland has clinched the first-half title in the Liberty Division. The Blue Crabs join Lancaster and York as franchises that have qualified for the playoffs in their second season. Atlantic League vet Keith Ramsey is making his first appearance of 2009 tonight. He was signed to fill the void when SoMd lost starter Kenny Baugh to the Astros.

The Barnstormers allowed six runs in the ninth inning as they fell to York, 10-5, Sunday afternoon. Here was manager Von Hayes’ reaction afterward:

On Antonio Alfonseca blowing his second save in three chances …

“I don’t think we can hang this one on him. He made some quality pitches. He made a double play pitch, which is what we needed, but we just didn’t turn the double play. If we turn the double play, the game is over. That opened the floodgates for them.”

On losing three of four to York …

“They’re a hungry team. They’ve lost a lot of games in the first half. You have to take advantage of the situations when they’re there. If you don’t, they’re going to beat you. Everybody knows they’re not as bad as their record indicated. They’re off to a tough start, but they’re going to be better and they’re playing better. We didn’t play well this series.”

On defensive miscues …

“If we don’t make a play that we should make, it’s just turning into big innings. A broken bat blooper here. A ball hits off the middle of the wall. It’s just one thing after another. I don’t know.”

On the roster …

“We just have to keep looking. The nucleus is here. We just need to get the right people in there. There were a lot of positives. I was very pleased with the way Abel threw again today. There may be some answers there.”

	Eric Junge 4-1, 1.73 ERA		Dan Foli 2-8, 6.42 ERA

The Barnstormers released Quincy Foster following Saturday night’s game. The outfielder hit .180 with one extra-base hit in 50 at-bats after signing on June 12. This was his fourth season in Lancaster. He also played here from 2005-07.

The team needed to make a roster move in order to activate P Eric Junge in time for Sunday’s start. Junge was on the inactive list while he negotiated a contract with a club in Korea. When that deal was not finalized, the team reinstated him. That put the roster at 26 and forced the corresponding move with Foster.

	Zack Parker 0-1, 2.87 ERA		Dan Harikkala 3-1, 4.55 ERA

Two items of note:

*OF L.J. Biernbaum has been activated from the disabled list and will be available for pinch hitting duties tonight.

*P Eric Junge, the Atlantic League pitcher of the month for June, is the scheduled starter for Sunday.