NEWARK, NJ - The Newark Bears were supposed to be a team of destiny.

In the first half of the 2008 Atlantic League season, they pounded teams into the ground with an explosively potent lineup that was unrivaled by any team. Whether it was Bobby Hill and Brian Burgamy setting the table, or Cory Aldridge, Ramon Castro and Val Majewski launching baseballs into the Ironbound’s evening sky, this was an offense that was second-to-none.

Then their pitching finally began to take shape. Pat Stanley and Mike Bumstead anchored the top of the rotation, getting consistently outstanding starts. Stanley, in particular, was dominating, including a 15-strikeout performance against the Lancaster Barnstormers in late May. Benito Baez finally got healthy as well and gave the Bears an excellent top 3 in their rotation.

Although the team lacked a true closer due to Al Levine’s early-season retirement, Cory Willey and J.J. Trujillo became a fantastic late-inning duo that shut teams down in those crucial seventh, eighth and ninth innings.

However, the unfortunate nature of the Atlantic League is that teams will lose their best players as the season rolls on. Brian Burgamy was the first to go. Burgamy, an on-base machine, was picked up by the New York Mets. Then, out of nowhere, Majewski was snapped up by the Houston Astros, which came as a complete surprise to him.

“I haven’t really heard from anyone yet” said Majewski after a June 19th game against Camden. “We’re all just working hard here and waiting for our number to get called.”

Finally, Aldridge, the rock-steady veteran in the middle of their lineup, went to the Kansas City Royals organization.

Despite that, the Bears were essentially one winning streak away from wrapping up the Freedom Division title for the first half. Instead, they began to falter, playing very inconsistently with their once-potent offense going dry on some nights. After taking two out of three from the Camden Riversharks and York Revolution, the Bears had finally re-positioned themselves in the right place to earn their playoff spot.

In early July, it all came down to a five-game series with the Somerset Patriots. The Bears went into the series dead-even with their rival for first place. After splitting the first four games, it came to a Sunday showdown and everything looked right for Newark.

Stanley was on the mound with an 8-1 record against Jim Magrane who hardly seemed to be able to get anyone out for most of the year. But, the Bears went quietly in a 6-1 loss in front of a packed house in Somerset. Just like that, the magical first half was over.

That brings the story to mid-August, Newark now has a 15-19 record for the second half. Forced to re-load, the Bears have been unable to re-capture the magic that Aldridge and Majewski brought to the middle of their order. Aldridge had consistently driven in runs the entire season and had a David Ortiz-like habit of coming through in the clutch. Majewski’s pure professionalism was unmatched, showing from day one that his bat belonged back in the major leagues. Combining the two of them with Castro, Jose Herrera and Randall Simon gave nightmares to opposing pitchers.

No matter who they have brought in since, none of their players have been able to duplicate the pure power and hitting ability the middle of their order once had.

The staff has suffered as well recently. Stanley and Bumstead remain at the top, but a rotating cast of starters have failed to establish themselves behind the two of them. Trujillo and Carlos Mirabal, both key contributors on last year’s championship team, have retired and Steven Kent has been traded away for catching help with the loss of John Pachot to the Mexican Minor League.

There are still pieces in place for the Bears. Castro, Herrera, Keith Reed, Raul Gonzalez and Ruben Mateo are all still dangerous hitters and Hill and Mike Just are still capable of getting on base ahead of them. But this is clearly a much different team without their superstar corner-outfielders.

Barring a sudden turnaround, Newark could very well be left wondering what might have been in 2008.

  E-mail this story |  Printer-friendly |  Discuss