The Result
Sea Dogs - 4 to 2

Sea Dogs - Year-to-Date
69 wins - 71 losses

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing rightfield
Batting #5

At the end of the Game
1 hit from 3 at-bats - double, 1 x walk, 1 x strike out, 1 x run scored

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Called strike - on the outside corner
Foul ball - back
Swing&miss
Strike out
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - none down
"A 'little dribbler' down the third base line which was fielded cleanly and the throw to first got Roneberg and that was the only play ...... the runner advanced to second base"
Out 5-to-3
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Called strike
Ball - low
"Roneberg went with that low-outside fast ball and drove it down the leftfield line and it short-hops the wall about twenty feet inside the foul ball line and Roneberg goes into second base standing up for his twenty-ninth double of the season"
Double
Went to third base on a passed ball
Scored on a sacrifice fly - "and the Sea Dogs take a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh innings"
Fourth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two out
Ball - low
Ball - "a little bit outside"
Ball - outside
Ball - low
Walk
Left stranded at the end of the innings

Heard during the game
(1) During the top of the second innings, the Fisher Cats had a runner at first base with one down - the next batter hit a single to rightfield and the runner advanced to third base - Brett tried a "9-to-5" throw but it got away from the third-baseman and the runner was safe, and the batter reached second base - the commentator said "there should be an error to Roneberg because of his 'errant throw' which was a bit off line and got away from the fielder ...... and the batter/runner was not going to second base until the ball got away"

Email from Brett
N/A

Sea Dogs Post-Season Awards
Choices clear, and cloudy, in selecting Sea Dogs' best

When the Portland Sea Dogs present their annual awards Monday, it will mark one of the easiest decisions, and one of the toughest, in Sea Dogs history.

The awards, which are voted on by the fans, include Most Valuable Player and Pitcher of the Year.

The Most Valuable Pitcher is a no-brainer.

Abe Alvarez (10-9, 3.59) was the Sea Dogs' only 10-game winner and their most reliable starter.

As far as the Most Valuable Player is concerned, fans had to pick between catcher Jeff Bailey and right fielder Brett Roneberg.

Bailey had the best batting average (.294) of any player here all season.
He hit 13 home runs and recorded 58 RBI.
Bailey proved to be a clutch hitter, and he did yeoman work behind the plate, having never been a full-time catcher before.
But he was also injured and played only 91 games.

Roneberg batted .273 with 16 home runs and a team-leading 76 RBI.
He played 120 games, only missing action to play for Australia in the Athens Olympics.

The fans also voted for the Tenth Man Award and the Citizen Award.

Contenders for the Tenth Man Award include utility players Joe Kilburg (.260) and Raul Nieves (.222).
Both have filled in often, and seemingly everywhere on the field.

The Citizen Award is a toss-up.

Game Reports
Sea Dogs get by the Fisher Cats

Brett Roneberg doubled and scored the winning run in the seventh inning as the Portland Sea Dogs defeated the New Hampshire Fisher Cats 4-2 Saturday.

The Fisher Cats (82-57) grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second when Maikel Jova and Justin Singleton knocked singles and New Hampshire capitalized on a key Portland error.

Sheldon Fulses RBI double was the key blow as Portland (69-71) tied it with runs in the third and fourth.

Roneberg led off the seventh with a double into the left-field corner, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored the go-ahead run on Mike Lopez-Caos sacrifice fly to right.
The Sea Dogs added another run in the seventh when Fulse scored on Raul Nieves infield single.

Portland pitcher Tim Hamulack (2-0) picked up the win.

New Hampshire reliever Ryan Houston (7-4) took the loss.

Sea Dogs are saving the best for last

The Portland Sea Dogs are saying hello just when it's time to say goodbye.

The Dogs, playing their best baseball just as the season is coming to an end, downed the New Hampshire Fisher Cats 4-2 before a sellout crowd of 6,975 at Hadlock Field.

Portland starter Kason Gabbard and two relievers held New Hampshire to three hits.

The Fisher Cats lead the Eastern League Northern Division.

Portland has won 7 of 8, climbing back to within two games of .500 with just two games to play.

"You can take the standings and throw them right out," said Portland Manager Ron Johnson.
"I'm really proud of my club because we have struggled.
But in the last 10 days, we've played hard, have tried to do the little things that give us opportunities to win the game.
I salute them, I really do."

The Sea Dogs hardly look like a team playing out the string.
Fold up the tent?
Hardly.

"No, not at all," said right fielder Brett Roneberg, who scored what proved to be the winning run.
"The guys are playing hard. It's fun.
We're having a good time."

The Sea Dogs trailed after giving up a pair of unearned runs in the second.
Former Sea Dog John Hattig opened the inning by reaching on an error by shortstop Hanley Ramirez.
Hattig moved to third on Maikel Jova's single, then scored on a hit by Justin Singleton.
Jova later scored on a groundout.

Portland answered with single runs in the third and fourth off Fisher Cats starter Chris Baker.
Gary Schneidmiller singled to open the third and eventually scored when Baker bounced a curveball off home plate.
In the fourth, Mike O'Keefe singled and scored when Sheldon Fulse slapped an opposite-field double down the left-field line.

Gabbard went five innings, retiring 11 of the last 13 batters.

The Sea Dogs scored the go-ahead runs in the seventh.
Roneberg had a leadoff double and Fulse walked off reliever Ryan Houston (7-4).
Mike Lopez-Cao drove in Roneberg, and Fulse scored on Raul Nieves' infield hit.

"I'm just trying to go out there and take something positive into next season," Fulse said.
"That's all I think we can do.
We're not playing for the playoffs.
We're just trying to go out there and have fun."

NOTES
Nieves has received approval from Boston to attempt to play every position in one game - well, almost.
"We haven't green-lighted him for pitching," said Red Sox minor-league director Ben Cherington, who attended Saturday's game.
"But we'll allow him to do the rest. . . . It's not our common practice by any means, but in this case we're making an exception."
POOR TASTE
For nearly every game, the antics of Slugger the Sea Dogs mascot are funny.
But in Friday night's race around the bases, Slugger pretended to be an Olympic marathon runner.
As he rounded first base, a man in knee socks ran out and interfered with Slugger.
It was a bad joke, mimicking a disgraceful moment of the Athens Olympics.
OBJECTIVE REPORT
Think the Binghamton Mets disagreed with the umpiring in the Sea Dogs' 6-3 win Thursday?
The Mets' official Web site report (on www.bmets.com) referred to the umpiring as "wretched" and "atrocious," and then called attention to umpire Steve Fritzoni's "latest umpiring blunder" and his "inconsistent strike zone."

Eastern League Game Summary - New Hampshire at Portland

Mike Lopez-Cao did not record a hit but he plated the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly to right field as the Portland Sea Dogs doubled the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 4-2, in an Eastern League Northern Division game Saturday.

With the win, Portland improved to 69-71 while New Hampshire fell to 82-57.

The game was tied, 2-2, heading into the bottom of the seventh when Brett Roneberg doubled, moved to third on a passed ball and scored the game-winning run when Lopez-Cao lofted a sacrifice fly to right field.

The run made a winner out of reliever Tim Hamulack (2-0).
He did not allow a run or a hit in 2-1/3rd innings before giving way to Marc Deschenes, who notched his 11th save by getting five outs.

Losing pitcher Ryan Houston (7-4) gave up two runs on three hits and recorded two outs.

New Hampshire and Portland are scheduled to play again Sunday.

DOGS WIN AGAIN, 4-2 OVER NEW HAMPSHIRE
Sea Dogs Have Won 7 of 8, Keep Hopes of 3rd Place Alive

Kason Gabbard, Tim Hamulack and Marc Deschenes combined on a three-hitter as the Portland Sea Dogs won for the seventh time in the last eight games with a 4-2 win over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

Mike Lopez-Cao drove in Brett Roneberg with the winning run in the seventh inning with a sacrifice fly.

Sheldon Fulse added a double, walk, RBI, stolen base and run scored.

Gabbard allowed only three hits over five innings and two runs (one earned).

Hamulack (2-0) retired seven of the eight men he faced in relief and Deschenes converted his 11th straight save by recording the final five outs.

New Hampshire did not record a hit for the final seven innings.

In the seventh frame, Roneberg doubled to left and moved to third base on a passed ball.
Following a Fulse walk, Lopez-Cao drilled a sac fly to right off Ryan Houston (7-4) to score the eventual winning run.
Fulse then stole second, moved to third on a fly out and scored on a bunt single with two outs by Raul Nieves - who plans to play all nine positions during the season finale on Monday.

Portland could move into a tie for third place in New Britain loses later Saturday night against Altoona.