Long Island Ducks baseball Randy Leek Brian Bohl Toronto Blue Jays Syracuse Chiefs TripleA

Ducks Ace Randy Leek Signed by Toronto

From LI to Taiwan to LI to Syracuse

By Brian Bohl

August 24, 2007

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY— The Ducks already know the pitching staff can persevere without Randy Leek. In May, the Levittown native left the team to pitch in Taiwan.

He returned last month, emerging as the ace on a first-place club. But the Ducks will now be forced to entering the stretch run without the veteran lefthander after the Blue Jays signed him to a minor league contract.

Leek (pictured at right) was 5-1 with a club-best 2.29 ERA. In his 11 starts, the southpaw recorded two shutouts and allowed more than three earned runs in just one outing. He will report to Triple-A Syracuse, though manager Dave LaPoint said he anticipates him returning to Citibank Park once the Chiefs’ season concludes.

“We’re very proud of what Randy has accomplished while wearing a Ducks uniform this year,” LaPoint said. “We’re excited that he will have the opportunity to pitch at such a high level, and hope we may see him back next month after the Triple-A season ends to help us in our playoff push.”

If Leek returns in time for the Atlantic League postseason, it would be the second time in two seasons the Ducks lost a key starter late in the season but retained his services for a championship run. Pat Mahomes signed with the Royals’ Triple-A club last summer before returning at the end of the regular season.

“It’s a tough decision he had to make,” LaPoint said. “I said to him, ‘two more starts and your leading the league in earned average by almost two runs.’ That comes in handy when you’re trying to get a job in the winter. But then again, going in Triple-A, you can start a couple of games and maybe open some eyes. It’s a tough call.”

“I except him back and told him before, ‘your roster’s spot is open and we need you.’”

Before entertaining playoff thoughts, the Ducks must first secure the second-half North Division title. That shouldn’t be a problem unless the other competition improves dramatically. Newark, the first-half champion, is struggling to stay at .500 after losing four in a row entering Thursday. Bridgeport is behind by double digits, and the Road Warriors claim the league’s worst overall record.

Leek was part of an all-left-handed rotation, one of the few in professional baseball. Now, the Ducks will replace his rotation spot with an acquisition expected to be announced by the weekend. To stock up the bullpen, LaPoint said he tried to recall Kevin Mannix from the Road Warriors before Joe Klein, the league’s executive director, nixed the move because the feeder team does not have enough pitchers.

“We’re going to have to keep looking,” LaPoint said. “The biggest risk here is hurting the guys in the bullpen. They might not ready to pitch 3-4 innings. That’s the risk you take.”

“We got a guy coming in Sunday who we haven’t announced yet. We’ll fill a little of the void, but who can tell how ready he’ll be to pitch? It’s guesswork right now.

Lance Davis, Donovan Osborne, John Halama, and Ed Yarnall are the four veterans entrusted with protecting a 5 1/2 game lead over Newark after last night’s game against Camden was cancelled against Camden. A twi-night doubleheader against the Riversharks was scheduled for tonight, with the first of two seven-inning games starting at 6:05 p.m.

“With Osborne having a sore arm and Leek being taken by Toronto…we got a doubleheader tomorrow and we have to start [Mark] Watson and [Travis] Wade,” LaPoint said about using two relievers as spot starters. “So it’s 14 innings of bullpen.”

The first round of the playoffs is a best-of-three series, meaning LaPoint will have a difficult choice even if Leek doesn’t come back. If the former Tigers and Dodgers farmhand doesn’t make the Blue Jays as a call-up, the playoff rotation is still uncertain. Based on performance, the top three choices would be Leek, Davis and Osborne, though Halama and Yarnall are still in contention and actually own better numbers than two of the three front runners.

“In my mind, I already got what I want for the playoff rotation,” LaPoint said. “It’s a matter of getting Lance back on track and getting Ozzie healthy. We’re still all set when you get to the playoffs, because you only need four starters anyway.”

Yarnall struck out six Riversharks in 3 1/3 innings before the fog rolled in. The game was called after nearly an hour delay, negating his stat line and burning a healthy starter until his next turn in the rotation.

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