If you ask a lot of people, the Trenton Thunder weren't even supposed to be in Round Two.
After sweeping the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in the ELDS, the Thunder advanced to the Eastern League Championship to face the Altoona Curve. The Curve won the title tonight in a Game 4 that saw both teams putting a good chance on the hill - Tony Watson for the Curve and Yankees top pitching prospect Manuel Banuelos. The Curve won it 5-2.
That concluded my second season covering the Trenton Thunder (for Pinstripes Plus at Scout.com, while also doing some coverage here) and I wanted to share my favorite quotes from the season.
I tip my cap to them all. They are a great group of guys and have a great deal to be proud of. I was most impressed with their closeness, their maturity, and, always, their manager, Tony Franklin.
"I don't mind the losses, we're going to get beat. But as you're being beaten, there's a measure of character you show." - Thunder manager Tony Franklin
"New Hampshire is a good team, but we try not to look too far into it or get caught up in it." - Second Baseman Matt Cusick before Game 1 of the ELDS (they sure didn't)
"The biggest thing for me and what I've learned is that Double-A to Triple-A is the biggest jump." - Reliever George Kontos, who finished the season back up at Triple-A Scranton.
"I haven't really had time to adapt to it. A lot of times I didn't
capitalize on a pitch they threw...I'd swing at stuff in the dirt. So
that's been a good for me to learn from. They know how to fool you
better."- Second Baseman Corban Joseph on adjusting to Double-A pitching. Joseph will participate in the Arizona Fall League.
"You see guys who have more of a thought process. Pretty much the only difference was off the field, in the clubhouse. They've been up and down, up and down. You notice that everything is a little more business-like at evey level you go up.- Second Baseman Justin Snyder on his few days at Triple-A Scranton
"No one likes being on the bench, but I understand. I wish I could play
everyday, but I'm ok with it." - OF Edwar Gonzalez on his Thunder role. Gonzalez got his first taste of Triple-A baseball in his five-year career, getting promoted to Scranton on September 1st.
"I think it's tremendous for him. Number one, I think Romy has really improved over the course of the year with calling the game. We talked about that early in the season, about what his value was going to be to the game." - Tony Franklin on catcher Austin Romine's opportunity to catch Andy Pettitte in his rehab appearance and progress.
“Defensively, I feel I’ve mastered what I need to master. But you have to keep working everyday or those aspects of your game are going to fail. Never sit back.” - Austin Romine
"The whole year felt kind of inconsistent to me. Mechanically, I just
haven't controlled the baseball as much as I'd have liked all year. It's
kind of been on and off." - Reliever Josh Schmidt, who won EL Pitcher of the Year honors. Schmidt pitched 60 innings and went 3-3 with a 2.67 ERA.
"Well, I always wait for the fastball no matter what the situation is. It's the best pitch to hit. I never look for anything else." - Backup catcher Rene Rivera on his hitting approach. Which is pretty straightforward.
"I had to kind of lock in mentally and try to keep everything the same. In the bullpen I didn't feel as loose as I usually do, because I didn't have a chance to run around as much. Once I got in the game, I got a little bit of adrenaline going." - Adam Warren on relieving Andy Pettitte in Game 2 of the ELDS, during Pettitte's two-game rehab with the Thunder
"I've never been part of a team where every time you take the field you feel like you're going to win. It's very exciting being a part of that." - Pitcher Andrew Brackman on his Thunder teammates