Metsblog.com is reporting that Pedro will likely not start for the Cyclones Monday afternoon. Instead, the righty will probably make his first major league start of the season Monday night in Cincinnati. As D.J. Short reports:

Pedro Martinez's bullpen session convinced the Mets that he may be able to make his season debut on Monday vs. the Reds.

...ironically, Cincinnati is where Martinez's first start as a Met took place...keep in mind that there is still a possibility that he could start for Single-A Brooklyn on Monday...stay tuned on that...

So yes, no? Give me a clear sign! As a Met fan, I hope that Pedro doesn't need another tuneup. I just regret that Pedro never made an appearance in Brooklyn. I mean, what did Binghampton do to deserve it?

The famous Band in the Sand in action. It really wouldn't be a Cyclones game without these guys.

MLB.com mentions that it is possible that Pedro Martinez will make his final rehab start Monday afternoon with the Brooklyn Cyclones. MLB.com states that:

Through Wednesday night, the Cyclones led the division and the second-place Yankees by 3 1/2 games. And the spector of Pedro Martinez possibly making his final rehab start for the Cyclones on Monday added some intrigue to the whole scenario.

Okay, so there's a chance. Pedro would look great in a Cyclones uniform.

...update...

The NY Daily News states that it is likely that Pedro will start for the Cyclones on Monday, writing:

Martinez will throw a bullpen session for pitching coach Rick Peterson in Atlanta tomorrow, then is expected to make one more minor-league start before being activated. That outing should come Monday in Brooklyn or Binghamton, probably with the Cyclones. Martinez seemingly would enter the rotation Sept.8 or 9 against the Astros at Shea.

We all know that the Cyclones ARE Brooklyn, but few people outside of our great borough even know who the Cyclones are. Thanks to the snooty and elitest publication The Economist, a few British people now know the Cyclones too. Here's a taste of what the Brits think of Coney Island:

The area has enjoyed a part-revival in the past decade, spurred by the economy, a spruced-up train terminal and the opening of KeySpan Park, home of the Brooklyn Cyclones, a minor-league baseball team. But there are still plenty of empty lots and odd furniture stores, and bits of glass and syringes are mixed in with the sand.

As if you don't have crackheads in London, haters.

In the interest of full disclosure, I subscribed to The Economist for two years.

Check out these two videos of former Cyclone great Paul Lo Duca going long, and getting a basehit during the fireworks display. Neato, thanks to billyblog for posting this little piece of Brooklyn baseball history.

Lo Duca's homer occurs around the 1:35 mark.


I actually make a cameo in this video. You can hear me yelling "beer, ice cold beer here" and I even walk through the screen shot for a split second. It's an honor to share the same computer screen with Paul Lo Duca.

The Brooklyn Cyclones (43-22) fell to the Aberdeen Ironbirds (30-38) last night by a score of 8-1 in Aberdeen.

The Cyclones' sole run came in the 2nd off a SS Matt Bouchard double.

RHP Tim Stronach (3-2) is your losing pitcher. The righty went innings, allowing 3 runs off 4 hits, walking 3 and striking out 3.

Following last night's action, the Cyclones now hold a 2.5 game lead over the Staten Island Yankees in the McNamera Division. If the season were to end today, they Cyclones would presumeably hold homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, though as the team with the best record, they have the right to wave homefield advantage (don't ask me why).

The Cyclones are 43-22, the Pinckney Division leading Auburn Doubledays are 42-26, which means Auburn is 1 back in the win column but 4 back in the loss column.

The New York Penn League plays best of three playoff series, where the team with homefield advantage plays games 2 and 3 at home and game 1 on the road. Assuming that the Cyclones maintain homefield advantage, the schedule should look like this for the first round

Sept. 7 Last game of regular season

Sept. 8 Off

Sept. 9 At opponent

Sept. 10 At Brooklyn

Sept. 11 At Brooklyn

For those of you who haven't seen it, here are two videos featuring my act at KeySpan. Enjoy!

The Brooklyn Cyclones (40-20) defeated the Vermont Lake Monsters (33-30) by a score of 8-2 behind a strong outing by RHP Dylan Owens, and 3 RBI performances by LF Ezequiel Carrera and C Jason Jacobs.

The Cyclones got it started in the top of the 3rd. After an RBI single by Carrera, Jacobs homered (10) to left, making the score 3-1.

Carrera finished the night 3-4 with 3 runs, 3 RBI and a walk. The one at bat where he did not manage a hit or a walk, he reached on an error and scored later in the inning.

Jason Jacobs, who has been consistently stepping it up, went 2-4 with a walk, a run, a homer, and 3 RBI.

Owens is your winning pitcher. He went 5.0 innings, allowing 5 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, and 1 strike out. The NYPL All Star is now 8-1 on the year.

The Cyclones throw starting pitcher Dillon Gee on the mound as Brooklyn goes for the sweep tonight in Vermont at 7:05.

While the Cyclones still have two bobblehead promotions left on their schedule (Joe Smith night on September 6th and Brooklyn Bridge on the 7th), Deadspin reminds us that Brooklyn isn't the only place to get a good bobblehead. The month of August features several desireable or otherwise noteworthy bobbleheads, including news man Tom Brokaw, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, ESPN fatso and Mets hater John Kruk, Twins hurler Johan Santana, and a water tower in the middle of nowhere. As Rick Chandler of Deadspin reports:

A different kind of bobble promotion occurred on Aug. 19, as the Florence Freedom (Independent Frontier League) handed out bobbletowers to the first 1,000 fans who showed up and claimed a voucher. Believed to be the first bobble depiction of a stationary landmark, the toy represents the famous Florence, Kentucky water tower on which the words "Florence, Y'All" are painted.

You mean if Cyclones management had released the Brooklyn Bridge bobblehead on August 18th, the Cyclones could hold the record for first bobblehead representation of a stationary landmark!? Someone really dropped the ball on this one.

Ok, this is really silly, but check out the Cyclones promotional video for Paul Lo Duca's return to Brooklyn.

The Cyclones (39-20) quickly rebounded from their disasterous performance Friday night, taking the opening game of a three-game set against the Vermont Lake Monsters (33-29) 14-3.

The Cyclones scored 7 in the 2nd inning, 2 in the 5th, 2 in the 6th, and 3 in the 7th, to amass a total of 14 runs, 14 hits (6 for extra bases) and 10 walks.

LF Lucas Duda got the Baby Bums started in the 2nd, conecting on a solo shot (4) to start the inning. After a single and a walk, Vermont starter Glen Gibson botched a potential double play ball, allowing 2 runs to score. RF Will Vogl, DH Micah Schilling and C Jason Jacobs also contributed to the inning with a triple, double and single respectively.

In the sixth, SS Matt Bouchard connected on a two-run shot, his first of the year.

LHP Eric Neisen did not pitch enough innings to factor in the decision. The southpaw went 3.1 innings, allowing runs 2 on hits 2 and walks 5, striking out 1.

RHP Edgar Ramirez (who is a fan of my juggling act) went 0.2 innings, allowing just 1 hit, striking out 1.

RHP Tim Stronach (3-1) is your winner. Stronach went 3 innings, allowing no runs on 2 hits and 2 walks.

RHP Brant Rustich finished the game, going 2 innings allowing a run on a homer, striking out 1.

Next game is today at 5:05 in the Green Mountain State.

Brooklyn Sox Fan, aka The Omnipotent Q, writes about his experience at the Cyclones' disasterous doubleheader last Friday on his blog The Mighty Quinn Media Machine. Remember, he's a Cyclones fan, so we won't fault him for rooting for the Red Sox, who the Mets beat the in 1986 World Series :-) Q writes:

I went to KeySpan Park last night, and saw the Brooklyn Cyclones lose a doubleheader to the Oneonta Tigers. (I also got a chance to meet Kyle Petersen, the vendor who does an amazing juggling act in the park. Nice guy.)

Wow, way to spell my last name correctly. The Brooklyn Paper misspelled my name, so you get bonus points. I'd attempt to spell your name correctly, but I don't want to reveal your secret blogger identity to the world.

Here is an outstanding video of some French unicyclists, I think... This is just insane.

C'est tres bien!

Yesterday was a good day for juggling peanut vendors everywhere, as I was featured both in The Brooklyn Paper, and Metsblog.com.

To see Patrick Hickey Jr.'s profile of me in the paper, click here.

To see the Metsblog posting, click here.

In the comments section, one Metsblog reader quipped "slow Mets news day". C'mon buddy, give me my dues! It's not every day that Matt Cerrone writes an article about a Minor League peanut vendor.

The Cyclones (38-20) pitching staff did not have its best stuff last night, and the offense was anemic until late in the second game as the Oneonta Tigers (37-25) had a field day at KeySpan last night, winning 9-2 in the first game and 9-7 in the second game of a double header. Mets All Star Paul Lo Duca started both games for the Cyclones, but could not single-handedly deliver Brooklyn from defeat.

Game 1 was a rather forgettable thrashing which featured a homer by CF Raul Reyes and a two-out RBI by SS Matt Bouchard. Other than that, it was all Tigers.

RHP Nick Waechter is Game 1's losing pitcher. Waechter went 3 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 3 hits, 2 walks, and a homer. He struck out 5 in the process, and falls to 4-3 this year.

Game 2 was perhaps more memorable, though many of the KeySpan faithful had already left by the time Brooklyn attemped a valient yet fruitless comeback, as the Cyclones were trailing 8-3 after the top of 4. All the runs came from DH Paul Lo Duca (2 RBI), 1B Lucas Duda (2 RBI), and C Jason Jacobs (3 RBI).

Jacobs homered in the bottom of the 1st and bottom of the 6th, his 8th and 9th of the year.

Lo Duca connected on a 2-run shot in the 5. It's great to see you're back in form Pauly boy, and thanks for the autograph.

Lucas Duda came through with a triple in the 1st inning.

RHP Nick Carr started and got a no decision. RHP Dan McDonald earns the loss, going 1 inning, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 2 walks and 1 hit. LHP Josh Appell pitched valiently in long-relief, going 3 innings and allowing 1 run off 5 hits.

Though the Cyclones lost the double header, the biggest loser of the night was umpire Harry Oschip, who blew several crucial (and fairly obvious) calls in the field. With two out in the last inning, Oschip called Jason Jacobs out on a check swing which wasn't even close, ending the Cyclones' chance at a comeback. He also blew another call in the field, calling an Oneonta basestealer out though he was clearly safe. These are just two examples, but I'm sure he had other blown calls over a 14 inning game. I speak for all Cyclones fans when I say "Blue, don't quit your day job".

Next game is tonight in Vermont at 7:05.

Dear all,

I haven't posted in a while because I am about to exceed my permitted bandwidth usage for the month. Tomorrow I am going to give in and pay the small fee neccessary to keep my blog up for the rest of the month. The blog will be running as the Cyclones persue the NYPL championship ring. For now, check out Patrick Hickey Jr.'s profile of a mysterious and unknown juggling vendor in Friday's edition of The Brooklyn Paper.

The Cyclones (36-18) fell once again to the Yankees (34-22) last night, this time falling to Staten Island by a score of 4-1.

The Cyclones trailed by a score of 4-0 for most of the game, finally getting on the board in the 9th on a DH J.R. Voyles double.

LHP Eric Neisen is your losing pitcher. Neisen went 4 innings, allowing 3 hits and 2 runs, both unearned.

RHP Tim Stronach surrendered a pair of runs over 2 innings, giving up 3 hits, a walk and a strikeout.

Next game is against the Yankees tonight at 7pm. The game will be televised on SNY.

The Brooklyn Cyclones (36-17) were soundly defeated by their archrivals the Staten Island Yankees (33-22) last night by a score of 12-3 in front of a sell-out crowd.

Though the Cyclones were only out-hit 11-9, the Yankees scored 1 in the first, 4 in the third, and 7 in the 8th. In the 8th, the Cyclones were trailing 5-3, only to see the Yankees increase their lead to 9 runs.

SS Matt Bouchard went 3-4 with a run, an RBI and a stolen base.

RHP Nick Carr (4-1) is your losing pitcher. He gave up 5 runs over 3 innings, allowing 6 hits and 1 walks, 2 striking out.

Next game is today in Staten Island, game starts at 2pm.

According to the Brookyn Cyclones' website:

August 17, 2007 - Friday's game has been rained out, and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on August 28th. That day, the Cyclones will play two seven-inning games against the Hudson Valley Renegades, beginning at 6pm. Gates will open at 5pm.

Fans with tickets to August 28th game ONLY will be admitted into the ballpark for the doubleheader.

Fans with tickets to the rained out August 17th game can redeem them at the KeySpan Park Ticket Office for any future Cyclones game, based on availability.

For more information, call 718-449-8497.

It's been 50 years since the Brooklyn Dodgers played their last game in Kings County, but the Dodgers Sym-Phony, the Brooklyn Dodgers marching band which made its first appearence in 1939, is still going strong. As The New York Times reports:

“That first year, Dodgers management did not want us at the ballpark,” Mr. Wilson recalled. “They felt we were a nuisance, but the players and the fans loved us, so we had to sneak into the ballpark. One guy paid the admission fee and lowered a rope over the side of the stadium, and we tied our instruments to the rope and had them hoisted up. Then we ran into the stands and started playing.”

Now that's dedication. I definitely wouldn't go through the trouble of sneaking my unicycle into KeySpan.

Rachel Robinson, widow of baseball legend Jackie Robinson, had kind words for the Sym-Phony.

“The Sym-Phony was one of the things people loved about Ebbets Field,” Mrs. Robinson said. “They provided a kind a special character and loving warmth that few other ballparks had, so I’d recognize them anywhere.”

I still have goosebumps thinking back to that game. Seeing Rachel, who is a civil rights hero, speak was incredible. I was surprised to see how vibrant she still is. She is a wonderful woman who has done a tremendous job keeping the memory of her late great husband alive.