Long Island Ducks baseball Brian Bohl bullpen Mike Crudale Danny Graves Dave LaPoint

Who Wants the Seventh Inning?

Seeking Playoffs, Ducks Search for Bullpen Solutions

by Brian Bohl

August 12, 2007

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY—The Ducks own the Atlantic League’s best record in the second half, establishing a sizable lead in the North Division. Carl Everett and Jose Offerman are displaying the bat speed and plate discipline that enabled both to become All-Stars during their major league careers.

Right-handed relievers Joe Valentine and Danny Graves complement an all-southpaw starting rotation, allowing Ducks manager Dave LaPoint to breathe a little easier if the Ducks bring a lead into the eighth inning. The only unresolved question remains the seventh inning role, where Ben Grezlovski, Travis Wade, John Riedling, and Mike Crudale are vying to lock up the set-up job.

The field became less crowded after the Ducks suspended Riedling on Sunday for undisclosed reasons. LaPoint said he couldn’t comment on the matter.

Riedling, who started the season in the rotation, was 5-3 with a 6.32 ERA before his ouster. Crudale, who played for the club last season, returned to team August 7 after a stint overseas. The 6-0, 200-pound righty looked rusty in his first two appearances, allowing a homer and two runs in 1 2/3 innings. But LaPoint said he is still in the mix to become the bridge to Valentine.

“He was in Italy, going over for a little vacation in the homeland,” LaPoint said with a laugh. “I can trust him. He goes right after you, throws a lot of strikes. He doesn’t walk a lot of guys. That’s why I like him.”

Crudale pitched for the Ducks the past two seasons, including 2005 when LaPoint was the pitching coach under then-manager and current third base coach Don McCormack. The Danville, California native recorded a 5-4 record in 64 appearances that season, going 10-8 in 111 games for the franchise before coming back.

“I know him so well [that] if he’s not throwing the way he should, I can fix him because I’ve had him for so long,” LaPoint said.

After St. Louis selected him in the 24^th round of the 1999 draft, Crudale reached the big leagues in 2002, going 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA in 49 appearances. The Cardinals promoted him from Triple-A Memphis again the following year, with Crudale posting a stellar 2.38 ERA before being traded to Milwaukee.

After playing the last two seasons in an independent minor league, Crudale said LaPoint asked him to return before going to Italy. He made the trek to Europe regardless, though he has now returned to a first-place club looking to add the final pieces to a title contender.

“I just felt the opportunity to go Italy was something I couldn’t pass up,” Crudale said. “I passed it up two years ago. It just kind of worked out. When the season was over there, I came back here."

“I’m just here to help the team win, whether it’s the fourth inning of the seventh inning," Crudale added. " I’m here to just try and put up zeros.”

Shortening the contest to seven innings alleviates pressure off a starting staff featuring five veteran lefties. Ideally, LaPoint said he would like one candidate to emerge for the seventh inning role to allow the other pitchers a chance to work in long relief or in blowout situations to rest the back end of the bullpen. Graves, who leads the Atlantic League with 26 saves, has already appeared in a team-high 46 games this season entering Sunday.

Wade and Grezlovski each possess ERAs over 4.00, though both have worked over 40 innings. If Crudale fails to win the job outright, either could secure the position. Most minor league seasons end in early September; meaning the Ducks could also find an outside solution should a veteran free agent become available in the next few weeks.

“It’s tough with a 12-man pitching staff,” LaPoint said. “We’ll find out who wants that seventh inning. We’re safe with Joe in the eighth and Danny in the ninth. We’re trying to find out who has the stuff.”

Grezlovski pitched two innings yesterday, allowing one unearned run thanks to a debatable error call on a groundball Dionys Cesar couldn’t handle cleanly. That run tied the score in the sixth before Carl Everett drew a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the inning to plate the go-ahead run. But even the stalwarts throw a clunker now and again, as Valentine allowed the Bears to tie in the eighth and Graves surrendered four runs in the ninth as Newark prevented a three-game sweep with a 8-4 win on Sunday.

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