CENTRAL ISLIP, NY – Juan Francia waited for a particular pitch to simultaneously end his hitless streak and stop the Ducks’ postseason malaise.
Francia smacked Southern Maryland’s Mac Suzuki’s eight-inning fastball into centerfield for a two-out, two-run single. Ray Navarrete followed with RBI single to left to help the Ducks avoid elimination with a 7-4 victory [...]

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY— Troy Cate ran to the cooler, grabbed a beer with each hand and sprinted down the hallway to the door leading to the Citibank Park home dugout.
Ducks manager Gary Carter didn’t have a chance to avoid him.
Cate doused the Hall of Famer as soon as he opened the door as the rest [...]

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY— Most clubs can define its seasons on a critical stretch that secures a playoff spot or dashes postseason aspirations.
The first two weeks of August nearly derailed the Ducks quest for a sixth straight Atlantic League playoff berth. But the subsequent fortnight is helping the Flock gain an edge of Bridgeport in the [...]

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY— Capacity home crowds helped the Ducks surge to a fast second-half start. But the club figuratively and literally limped out of a disastrous six-game home stand, fishing 1-5 after Southern Maryland scored four times on just one hit in the 12th inning to post a 6-2 victory over the Ducks Thursday night.
The [...]

NEWARK, NJ— All six Ducks All-Stars stood on the third base line after the pregame introductions before Tuesday night’s game. They were easy to spot, wearing out-of-place red caps on top of the club’s green-and-gray road uniforms.
But there were still plenty of smiles for the team’s four position players and two pitchers who were selected [...]

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY— Gary Carter embraced Julio Manon just outside the manager’s office in the Citibank Park clubhouse. Moments after the Ducks wasted a two-run eighth inning lead in a 4-2 defeat to Camden, the manager tried to lift the spirits of his starting pitcher.
“You deserved to win,” Carter said to Manon, who had a [...]

BRIDGEPORT, CT- Scattered papers and candy wrappers make Tommy John’s not-so-spacious office a cluttered mess. Like the Ducks stadium, the Ballpark at Harbor Yard doesn’t provide for a sizable managerial office.
John doesn’t seem to mind the close quarters. His Bridgeport Bluefish just posted a 10th-inning home run to prevent a three-game sweep to the Ducks [...]

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY- It’s not in the Atlantic League charter that the Ducks must claim the most former major leaguers. It just seems that the club has stockpiled the most accomplished players since winning the 2004 championship.
Newark is now challenging the Ducks for the biggest names in the independent minor league, carrying 15 ex-big leaguers [...]

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY- Ken Ray commenced his professional career as a starter before moving into the bullpen.  But while many pitchers switch between the two roles at some point, Ray is making the transition for the third time.
The Ducks right-hander made only relief appearances from 2006-07.  But Ray continued to find a comfort level as [...]

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY – Not a single day has passed with the first-place Ducks claiming a losing record.  For manager Gary Carter, only slow starts for Lew Ford and Randy Leek had tempered the early-season enthusiasm.
Leek lost his first two starts, allowing nine earned runs in 11 innings while Ford entered Thursday’s contest against Lancaster [...]