A Season to Remember

By Anthony Castellano

Syracuse Chiefs' fans were raucously waving towels before the ninth inning commenced, sending waves throughout the stadium that, at this time last year, was pretty much a graveyard. The Chiefs' efforts ultimately fell short as they lost 7-6 and were swept by the Pawtucket Red Sox in their best of five playoff. Still the resurgent season that saw the Chiefs' end their 16-year playoff drought certainly wasn't lost on Manager Billy Gardner, Jr.

The Chiefs relinquished an early four run lead

"We won the division- a very strong division this year," a proud Gardner said. "Other players got moved up to the big leagues. Other players put themselves in a position to get there. I think from an individual standpoint and a team standpoint, it was a very good year."

Admitting that the playoffs can be a roll of the dice, Gardner prefers to look at the season in its entirety. The team set a high standard from spring training on and stayed true to that standard.

 "When the season started, they wanted to go all the way," Gardner said. "We just didn't get it done but this was a team in every sense of the word for me from the get-go. They never shied away from the work and they got better and in turn the team got better. They did everything you look for from a manager's standpoint."


Mitch Lively and former first round pick Henry Owens, the starting pitchers for Syracuse and Pawtucket respectively, struggled early on. Neither lasted past the fourth inning and Lively surrendered four walks. Chiefs' pitching coach Paul Menhart was quite in his thoughts regarding the difference in the game.

"Walks!" a frustrated Menhart shouted.

As with all minor league teams in the month of September, the Chiefs were playing a with a depleted roster in light of the recent promotion of players including Steven Souza, Jr. and Tyler Moore. Yet, Gardner knows the makeup of this squad and said he was confident in its ability to perform.

The Chiefs' fans were very excited for playoff baseball

"We went out there with what we had and we did everything we could to try to win a game," Gardner said. "I felt good about the team we put on the field and we just didn't do enough things right to win. We just couldn't protect the lead."

The Chiefs got off to a promising start offensively with an early 4-0 lead due in part to Will Rhymes' two-RBI double and Emmanuel Burris' solo home run in the second inning. After several lead changes, Ryan Lavarnway's two-RBI double in the seventh inning gave Pawtucket the lead and the Red Sox never looked back.

As the season reached its conclusion, Chiefs' pitcher Daniel Stange, who did not play in the game,  remained optimistic.

"It's not where we wanted to be at the end of the day but it's still a positive year," Stange said.

While the 38-year title drought goes on, the Chiefs take some solace in the fact that they finally experienced some playoff baseball. Success is a gradual process and when reflecting on this memorable season, one key factor stands out- the fans.

"GM Jason Smorol got the word out to the community," Menhart said. "It's just frustrating that it had to end so abruptly. This community I know loves baseball and to be able to be a part of a winning team and see the support that they've shown us throughout the year is great. There was basically no one in April and May and to see 5,000 plus (official attendance-8,269) there tonight- you can't say enough about this community."