Back in June, I wrote about Bridgeport’s lack of a big bat--a slugger if you will. By mid-June they were well into their rapid plummet to last place, where they finished the first half. Luckily, all is not lost, the roster continues to evolve. Fast forward passed the All Star break to the present and, somehow, they’ve turned things around enough to be tied for first place for the second half reboot.

In the wake of losing starter Mike Antonini and 2B Luis Rodriguez, the organization made several moves in hopes of building a stronger team, knowing the first half was gone and a team that was once the biggest loser can turn around and head to the postseason. 

Now 24 games into the second half and Bridgeport is tied for first with the Somerset Patriots.  Core players like Welington Dotel, John Alonso, Eric Draxton, and Pat Mincey have found a way to mesh with newer guys like Bryant Nelson, Eric Niesen, Steven Ames, and Kameron Loe. Add to that the return of Sean Burroughs from the DL and Ricky VanAsselberg just may have found the right combination to bring back champion caliber play to the Park City. 

Since the All Star break, they’ve won 4 out of the 7 series played, including sweeps of both the Camden Riversharks and the Long Island Ducks. Today they leave Long Island having split the series against them 2-2. 

Here’s a quick run down on who’s helping the cause:

Offense

RF Welington Dotel leads the league in BA (.325).

1B/DH John Alonso and Dotel are the team’s RBI (46 and 42 respectively) and runs scored leaders.

CF/SS Josh Prince had a 16 game on-base streak until August 1st when he went 0-for-5 against the Ducks.

2B Bryant Nelson has improved his average to .324 for the year since joining the Fish in July; he had a .286 average with the Barnstormers before that. He batted .357 in Bridgeport’s last two series. 

Pitching

DJ Mitchell continues to lead the team’s rotation in ERA (2.82), wins (5), and strikeouts (76).

Reliever Pat Mincey has solidified his role as the team’s closer after accumulating 11 saves in the month of July.

Reliever Eric Draxton continues to be one of the best in the league with  a 2.15 ERA in 37.2 innings.

You’ll need a magnifying glass to find reliever Eric Niesen’s ERA, now a tiny 0.77 in 23.1 IP with 12 SO per 9 innings.

Tonight the Bridgeport Bluefish return home after a long road trip in which they went 2-5. Unfortunately, immediately before that they were swept at home by the Somerset Patriots. They really haven’t caught a break since the departures of Nick Van Stratten and Ildemaro Vargas.

The Bluefish haven’t been a slugging team, but at least when Van Stratten was around the fans felt like the combination of Van Stratten, Sean Burroughs, and Welington Dotel could string together enough hits, walks, and stolen bases to get the runs when needed. Without him, the only consistent hitters are Dotel and Burroughs, with John Alonso trailing a little further behind (.236 AVG, .285 OBP, .376 SLG). 

With Van Stratten gone, the Bluefish need a boom-stick more than ever. The clean up spot in the lineup--no matter who gets put in there--seems to be an automatic out most of the time. If there’s one thing the Fish need to do, its to find a slugging DH or outfielder. 

In the last 10 games, the clean up spot in the order has produced a .162 batting average and I’m willing to bet that’s not too far off from the stat for the entire season. For most of the season, that’s been Andres Rodriguez’s fault, but more recently Ricky VanAsselberg finally decided to give some other guys the opportunity to bring in some runs (Chris Garcia-released, Alonso, and Jobduan Morales). Unfortunately, Rodriguez may have just stunk up the spot because it seems that no matter who Ricky puts there, they don’t hit. 

At least in the last 10 games, a real clean up hitter might have made a key difference for many of those games (except for the 8-1 loss to the Patriots); they never lost by more than 3 runs and most of the time by only 1 run. The pitching staff has done a decent job at keeping the games within reach, but the offense has not executed after creating opportunities.

Here’s a quick rundown on how some individual’s are doing after winning only one of the three series played so far (4-5). Surely, today’s 20-0 win over the Riversharks gave everyone a little boost. 

Offensive Notes

The biggest surprise for me, but surely not for the manager, has been the offensive burst from outfielder Welington Dotel. Dotel started the season 3-for-21; despite the slump, manager Ricky VanAsselberg kept him, not only in the lineup, but in the heart of it. Early on, Dotel looked overmatched at the plate--impatient, anxious, and flailing at the ball. He struck out 7 times in his first 13 at-bats. VanAsselberg’s loyalty to him soon paid off as he’s now 8-for-12 in his last 3 games. Dotel had 6 RBI in today’s harpooning of the Riversharks. He now leads the team in RBI, AVG, SLG, and OPS among players with 30+ AB.

Another sweet surprise has been the shortstop Ildemaro Vargas. As one of the smallest and youngest players (23 years old), Vargas came with limited experience beyond Single A ball and numbers that most definitely brought some doubt. I expected to see a flashy glove and not much more from the Venezuelan. The fact that he was the last batter in the lineup didn’t help for expectations either. Now that the season is getting going, it seems like Vargas is always on base and making things happen. He’s batting .314 with a .385 OBP. Vargas leads the team in stolen bases (4 SB) and is tied for most runs scored with lead off man Nick Van Stratten (8 R). 

Offensively, the biggest worry was 1B/DH Andres Rodriguez. To start the season, he went 0-for-14 before getting his first hit as a Bluefish.  Same as with Dotel, VanAsselberg is counting on big offense from Rodriguez; he’s been in the 4, 5, or 6 spots in the lineup since the start of the season. Rodriguez’ bat is finally warming up--he went 5-for-12 in the recent series against Camden, including a home run and a double. With only 1 RBI, we have yet to see if he can bring guys home consistently. 

Bottom Line: The Bluefish lead the league with a .722 team OPS.

Pitching Notes

Bluefish pitching has been fairly stable, except for Cory Riordan who was scratched from his start Saturday. The starters have gone respectably deep in the games for so early in the season and relievers have been able to limit walks and runs.  The average length for Bluefish starters is a little over 5 innings. The bigger worry early on was definitely in the offense. Starters DJ Mitchell and Parker Frazier are in the league’s top 10 pitchers in ERA, while starter Scott Maine is third in the entire league with 14 K’s (9.2 innings). 

Reliever Patrick Mincey is standing out as a top reliever for the team early on. In 4 innings pitched he has yet to give up a run. He can be a little wild (4 BB), but that seems to be a problem with most of the pitching staff--too many walks (39 in 9 games). Mincey will need to gain better control to consistently shut down the opponent. The bullpen’s strikeout machine has been Eric Draxton (9.6 K/9). 

Bottom Line: The Bluefish have the third best team ERA in the league (3.07) while giving up the second most walks in the league. 

Last night Tiago’s Bar & Grill, located in downtown Bridgeport, just minutes from the ballpark, hosted a team meet & greet for the players, front office staff, and fans. The beer was flowing and good times were had by all. Every part of this team is so excited for the season--an excitement that I, as a fan, hadn’t felt since the early years. There’s a magic brewing and folks better get to the ballpark to check it out! Don’t miss opening night tomorrow--game time is 5:30. Here are some fun pics from the night. 

You know the night is going well when 3B Sean Burroughs and CF Nick Van Stratten get themselves involved in a 3-way thumb wrestling match! The kid with the hat is Rodney Polonia, a new infielder formerly in MiLB with the Pirates and the Rockies organizations. Shortly thereafter, thumb wresting was outlawed due to risk of injury to Burroughs. 

There’s always a goof ball in the bunch. Fans should be happy with the return of Sean Burroughs and you’ll be impressed by Van Stratten’s defensive skills if not by his offense. On the bottom left is CT native pitcher Matt Iannazzo who will be sticking to the bullpen this season. On the bottom left is pitcher Tim Gustafson. Both guys are happy to be back and eager to get the season started. 

Head over to Tiago’s facebook page to stay updated with their events and announcements!

Opening Night Notes:

Don’t forget the Two Roads Beer Garden will have a grand opening of sorts at 4 pm before the game. Click for more info:

Fans in attendance will have the opportunity to participate in a very special ribbon cutting ceremony, as well as enjoy live music, networking, and raffles before the game. Tickets are $35, which includes entrance to the reception, two drink vouchers, a hot dog, and a ticket to the game.