Reichert Vs. Yan Gives Atlantic a Major League Pairing

This is one of those abundant times when record-shattering performances, solid season-long attendance, and the playoffs collide for attention, but the postseason has to take center stage because it is what everyone has been striving for throughout the 140-game regular season.  Actually, the opportunity also is there to combine one of the Atlantic League-record-breaking players with the run to the championship.

Dan Reichertof Southern Maryland, fresh from breaking the league record for victories, and Bridgeport’s Esteban Yangive Game 1 of the Liberty Divisionseries which opens at the Blue Crabs’ Regency Furniture Stadiumin Waldorfa true marquee matchup Wednesday night.

The aging but still potent right-handers go into the playoffs with a combined 54 major league victories and another 53 saves, the latter mostly by Yan, and have 33 victories between them this season.  Yan won 12 games in Mexicoand has gone 3-1 since his return to the Bluefishwhile Reichert broke the 13-year-old league record when he garnered his 18 ^th victory (18-9) in his last regular-season start.

The pitching matchups for the series:

Wednesday:  Bridgeport (Yan, 3-1) at Southern Maryland (Reichert, 18-9)
Thursday:  Bridgeport (Stark, 8-4) at Southern Maryland (Robertson, 6-4)
Friday:  Southern Maryland (Halama, 2-3) at Bridgeport (Gonzalez, 9-4)
*Saturday:  Southern Maryland (Newby, 6-5) at Bridgeport (Pike, 12-5)
*Sunday:  Bridgeport (Yan) at Southern Maryland (Reichert)

*If necessary

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Matt DeSalvo Gets Ball for York

Yorkwill hand the ball to right-handers Matt DeSalvo(5-2) and Corey Thurman(10-8) for the first two games in the Freedom SeriesWednesday and Thursday when the Revolutionhost defending champion Somerset, which still is said to be deciding between lefties Bill Pulsipher(5-1) and Joel Kirsten(1-0) and right-hander Josh Miller(12-9) for the opener with another southpaw, Brian Adams(4-4), somewhere in the mix for the next three games.

Attendance Mirrors ’09 With 2,151,416

Final attendance was remarkably similar to one year ago with 2,151,416 fans passing through the turnstiles, according to numbers compiled by the official statistician, Pointstreak.  It is a decline of 9,577 from one year ago.

Long Islandonce again set the pace with 410,619, an average of 6,038, although runner-up Somersetclosed the gap, increasing by about 14,000 to 369,466 (5,354 average).  Lancaster(327,467) and York(278,410) held onto the next two positions with Camden(246,039) slipping ahead of Southern Maryland(240,777) for fifth and Bridgeport(160,653) moving past Newark(117,985). Lancaster was some 13,000 better than last year and Camden improved by nearly 12,000.

(These are excerpts from the Atlantic League Notebook, with more information found at www.AtlanticLeagueBaseball.com . Bob Wirz also writes a weekly column, the Independent Baseball Insider, as well as a blog, www.IndyBaseballChatter.com. The author has 16 years of major league baseball public relations experience with Kansas City and as chief spokesman for two Commissioners and lives in Stratford, CT.)