Boulders Changing Things Up

RAMAPO, New York – The Rockland Boulders announced the acquisitions of catcher Scott Clement, infielder/outfielder Joseph Hage, outfielder Ryde Rodriguez and infielder Cole Kraft.  Catchers Jonathan Candelier and Chad Duesler, outfielder Eric Flynn, infielder/outfielder Jermel Lomack and infielder Deybis Benitez have all been released.

Clement comes to the Boulders after playing with the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League at the end of the 2010 season.  Before that, he spent time with the St. George Roadrunners of the Golden Baseball League earlier in the season.  With the Wild Things, Clement played in just seven games.  While at St. George, Clement batted .301 with two home runs and 25 RBIs in 52 games.  In 2009 at Cal State-San Marcos, Clement started all 43 games for the Cougars, batting .319 with 12 home runs and 45 RBIs.  His 107 total bases were second on the squad. 

A two-year playing career at NCAA Division II UC-San Diego saw Clement compile a combined .345 batting average with 19 home runs and 73 RBIs in 74 games.  His 56 RBIs in 2006 rank fifth in school history.  In 2006, Clement was named to the NCAA D-II All-West Region second team.  He was also named to the All-California Collegiate Athletic Association first team in 2006.

Hage recently played with the GCL Cardinals of the Gulf Coast League in 2009, the St. Louis Cardinals’ rookie ball affiliate.  He was drafted by St. Louis in the 23^rd round of the 2007 MLB Amateur Draft at the age of 18.  In each of his three seasons in the Cardinals’ system, Hage split time with the GCL Cardinals and the Johnson City Cardinals of the Appalachian League, also a Cardinals’ rookie ball affiliate.  In those three seasons, Hage recorded a combined .248 batting average with three home runs and 43 RBIs in 130 games.

Rodriguez also joins the Boulders from the St. Louis Cardinals system. He left his homeland of Cuba for Argentina, Nicaragua and then the Dominican Republic.  Rodriguez signed as an international free agent on July 25, 2007.  Before coming to Rockland, Rodriguez played for the Palm Beach Cardinals of the Florida State League, where he was batting .220 in 13 games.  He played for both Palm Beach and the Quad City River Bandits in 2010, hitting a combined .272 with five home runs and 55 RBIs in 104 games.  In 2008 with the GCL Cardinals, Rodriguez batted .329, which was good for fourth in the league, earning him the Scout.com GCL Player of the Year award. 

Kraft recently finished his college career after the 2011 season with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers of the Division I Horizon League.  He finished this season batting .354 with three home runs, 39 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 57 games.  His efforts earned him a spot on the 2011 All-Horizon League First Team at second base.  In the 2010 season, Kraft earned Second Team All-Horizon League honors at shortstop after batting .350 with five home runs and 35 RBIs in 56 games.  He also earned a spot on the Horizon League Academic Honor Roll in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Great tickets are still on sale for Rockland Boulders home games at Provident Bank Park – America’s Best New Ballpark.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.rocklandboulders.com, at the ballpark box office or by calling 845-364-0009.

Rep. Engel Highlights 45th Anniversary of Medicare

Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-17), in celebrating today as the 45th anniversary of the implementation of Medicare, vowed to ensure the program will survive, despite efforts to radically change the way it works.  President Lyndon Johnson had signed Medicare into law on July 30, 1965, and on July 1, 1966, enrollees first entered the program.

“Creating Medicare was one of the proudest achievements of the Democratic Party.  Too many people have forgotten what life was like in the United States before Medicare existed.   In 1964, only 51 percent of Americans over 65 had health care coverage – whereas today, because of Medicare, coverage is virtually universal.  In addition, the creation of Medicare saw the poverty rate among seniors drop dramatically,” said Rep. Engel.

Nearly 30 percent of seniors lived below the poverty line in 1964 – and today that number has dropped to 7.5 percent.  Furthermore, Medicare has significantly contributed to the increased life expectancy of Americans.  Today, Medicare provides comprehensive health care coverage to 47 million Americans, including 39 million seniors and 8 million people under 65 with disabilities.  Medicare is also enormously popular with seniors and people with disabilities – with Medicare beneficiaries more satisfied with their coverage than Americans with private insurance.  Medicare provides a guaranteed set of benefits and affordable premiums.

Unfortunately, on April 15, 2011, House Republicans passed a budget that would end Medicare and replace it with a system where seniors get a voucher to go out and buy private insurance.  This would result in reducing benefits and raising seniors’ costs.  Republicans argue that the Medicare program cannot be maintained and must be completely replaced. 

“Over the last 45 years, Democrats have fought vigorously to protect and strengthen Medicare.  When we held the majority, we enacted legislation to extend Medicare’s solvency – most recently in the Affordable Care Act that extended Medicare’s solvency.  I will continue to work to strengthen Medicare and ensure that the promise we made to our seniors remains for future generations,” said Rep. Engel.

Boulders Drop Newark in Extras, 7-6

RAMAPO, New York – With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th, Vic Buttler blooped a single over the second baseman to give the Rockland Boulders the 7-6 victory over the Newark Bears (18-18) in Can-Am League action at Provident Bank Park Sunday night. 

Buttler did not disappoint Sunday night, going 2-for-2 with the bases loaded with a bases clearing double in the second and the walk off single in the 10th.  He finished the night 2-for-4 with four RBIs.

The Boulders got on the board early on Sunday night.  Sean Smith reached on an error to lead off the game for Rockland.  With two outs, Tommy Giles drilled a ball off the right field wall for a double that brought Smith around to score and give the Boulders the first run of the game.

Newark quickly responded with a run of its own in the top of the second.  With Pat Biserta on first, Juan Martinez doubled to right field to put himself and Biserta in scoring position.  Ryan Walsh hit a fly ball to centerfield that was long enough to bring Biserta home.

The Boulders answered right away in the bottom of the second.  Buttler came up with two outs and the bases full.  On a 3-2 count, Buttler roped a line drive down the left field line to clear the bases and give the Boulders a 4-1 lead after two.

The scoring kept coming as the Bears plated two in the top of the third.  Brandon Watson stood on first base as Tim Raines Jr. smacked a line drive into the short porch in right field to bring Newark within one of Rockland.

Cole Kraft, starting for the first time this season, got his first hit as a Boulder in the bottom of the sixth, followed by his first stolen base.  Smith blooped a single into center that scored Kraft from second to give the Boulders a 5-3 lead. 

With runners on first and second, Brandon Watson singled to center to bring Newark back within one.  Raines Jr. grounded out for the first out of the inning, but that brought in Kyle Davis to tie the game at five apiece.  Danny Santiesteban recorded the fourth single of the inning for the Bears, bringing the leading run around to score for Newark.

Rockland threatened in the bottom of the eighth inning after Ryan Mollica led the inning off with a double.  Cole Kraft reached on an error that put runners on the corners for the Boulders with one away.  Mollica tried to score on a ground ball to third by Smith, but was gunned down as the catcher Bobby Dombrowski held on to the ball when Mollica tried to knock it out.  Buttler followed with a lineout to center to end the inning.

A light malfunction delayed the ninth inning for about twenty minutes, but the game eventually resumed.  Adrian Martin came in and pitched a clean ninth inning for Rockland, giving them a chance to tie in the ninth.

Cristobal Santana singled to start the ninth for the Boulders, but the next two batters would not reach base.  With two outs, newcomer Scott Clement doubled into the right field gap to bring Santana home and tie the game, sending the game to extras.

In the home half of the tenth, Ray Stokes, who entered the game for Hage in the ninth, walked to lead off the inning.  He moved over to second on a wild pitch, and then moved to third on another wild pitch.  Kraft and Smith were both walked intentionally to load the bases and give Buttler the chance to win the game.

Adrian Martin pitched two innings for the Boulders to earn his second win of the season.

The Boulders (14-19) will take on the Newark Bears Monday afternoon in the third game of the series at Provident Bank Park.  First pitch is scheduled for the special Fourth of July start time of 5:05 p.m.

Jonathan Velasquez (1-3) takes his turn for the Boulders on Monday against Newark’s Chris Vasami (3-2).

Monday afternoon is Old Fashioned Fourth of July at Provident Bank Park!  Come enjoy $1.00 hot dogs and cokes!  Get your tickets at www.rocklandboulders.com now!

Catch all the action live at www.rocklandboulders.com and follow @CanAmBoulders on Twitter for more Boulders updates.

Great tickets are still on sale for Rockland Boulders home games, and can be purchased online at www.rocklandboulders.com or by calling 845-364-0009.

Some Facts and Trivia as Canada Celebrates 144 Years Today

Today is Canada Day; the day Canadians celebrate 144 years since the country was formed from three British colonies.

Canada, while very similar to the United States in many ways, has always been just a little different from her neighbors to the south.  I am still amazed at just how little most Americans know about their neighbors to the north and my home and native land so it’s about time we set some facts straight with some Canadian information and trivia.  BTW, Trivial Pursuit was invented in Canada.

Having lived in America for just over half my life, I’ve heard the terms ‘Eh, oot and aboot' and Canadian jokes more times than I can count when people find out that I'm a Canadian.  While others might become hostile when people make derogatory comments about their homeland, I’ve come to take it all in stride; it’s what we do, we’re known as some of the most polite people on earth—until of course, you put us on ice or pick a fight with us.

Speaking of ice, Canada is not a year round frozen tundra and hockey, the sport which defines us, is not the national sport—lacrosse has earned that distinction but hockey is still our sport; we play it better than anyone else, can beat the crap out of anyone on skates and then still enjoy a beer with our opponents after the game. 

While on the topic of sports, basketball was invented in 1891 by a Canadian, Dr. James Naismith.  The first game was played in Springfield, MA with at least ten of those participating in that game being students from Quebec.

We don’t wave flags as much as Americans do but we love our country just as much.  We’re just a little quieter and more subdued—so much so that the Canadian Prime Minister had to go before Parliament to encourage Canadians to engage in an “uncharacteristic outburst of patriotism” in support of our athletes at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

In America the last letter of the alphabet is pronounced “zee” we pronounce it “zed.”

Although a peace-loving nation we are not full of draft dodgers.  Yes there were many people who came to Canada from the United States during Vietnam to avoid the draft but that was their personal choice - not ours.  According to Tom Brokaw, if you’re in a fight, you want Canada on your side.  Canada was one of the first countries to declare war in WWI and WWII. We were engaged in WWII long before Pearl Harbor; we fought in the Gulf War along side many other countries and are still in Afghanistan. We are renowned the world over for our peace-keeping forces. It just so happens that we have a small but fierce army and our special forces are second to none.  

We honor our causalities of war on the Highway of Heroes—a 100 mile stretch of highway with 50 overpasses.  Ordinary Canadians stand shoulder to shoulder with police officers, veterans and fire fighters on every one of these overpasses while others pull to the side of the road to honor the procession that includes our fallen soldiers and their families.  It’s not a formal thing; it's a word-of-mouth thing as people come out on their own to pay their respects.  Flying war dead into Dover AFB in the middle of the night is not, in my opinion, the way to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.

We are the sixth largest oil producing country in the world and the single largest oil supplier to the United States.  In fact, the United States consumes about three quarters of Canada’s exports each year.

People also find us entertaining.  We export entertainers to the United States including Celine Dion, Alex Trebek, Monty Hall, Rich Little, Art Linkletter, Howie Mandel, Jim Carrey, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Mike Myers, Michael J. Fox, Brendan Fraser, Phil Hartman, Michael Ironside, Lorne Greene,  Eugene Levy, Leslie Neilson, Matthew Perry, Christopher Plummer, Jason Preistly, Keanu Reeves, Donald Sutherland, Raymond Burr, Thomas Chong, David Foster, Steppenwolf, Rush, Men Without Hats, Barenaked Ladies, Anne Murray, Shannon Tweed, Avril Lavigne, Shania Twain, Neil Young, Bryan Adams, Pamela Anderson, Alanis Morissette and many more.

We are the second largest nation on earth in total area after Russia.

Canadians enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world including free healthcare.  As much as people would like Americans to believe that the Canadian healthcare system doesn’t work, that is merely a figment of people’s greedy imaginations.  Although not perfect, the system works quite well thank you very much.  Canadian families will never be bankrupted by medical bills.

We do have a sweet tooth with more than 70% of the world’s maple syrup production coming from Canada but diabetics can rejoice as Canadian Nobel Prize winner Dr. Frederick Banting was a co-discoverer of insulin.

Canada has a long, rich tradition of inventing things.  The telephone was invented in Canada by Scotsman Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 and Guglielmo Marconi received the first ever wireless transmission via his invention in 1900.  Television was invented by Reginald Fessenden and IMAX by Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor and Robert Kerr.

When Iranian students overran the U.S. Embassy and took hostages, it was the Canadian Embassy that harbored and then helped six Americans to safely get out of the country.  

It was Canada who welcomed 239 U.S. bound aircraft with 33,000 passengers on 9/11 when the United States closed their airspace.  Communities doubled in population for a few days and regular citizens opened their hearts and their homes to feed and care for the unexpected but welcome visitors.

We have been friends and neighbors with the longest undefended border in the world until 9/11 changed that distinction.  Still, 200 million people cross the border between Canada and the United States each year as more than $1.5 Billion in trade and commerce takes place each day.

And now, on Canada’s 144^th anniversary, you probably know a little more about your neighbor to the north.

Happy Birthday Canada.