Yankees versus Red Sox. Michigan versus Ohio State. Duke versus North Carolina. These are among the most storied rivalries in all of sports. But none of these can compare with the fiercest rivalry of them all: BRASSball's very own Springfield versus Fleetwood.
Deep family connections set the Springfield vs. Fleetwood rivalry apart from all others. On one side you have Jon Kjarsgaard, manager of the Springfield Isotopes. On the other you have his older brother Joal, general manager of the Fleetwood Walkers. As far as sibling rivalries go, perhaps only the Brothers Gallagher can compare.
The feud between these once-close brothers dates back to 2001. At that time, Jon Kjarsgaard was employed by his brother Joal with the Fleetwood Walkers, serving as the team's roving bunting instructor. This was a position Jon had earned through years of childhood dedication, and it was a field of study that Jon held in the highest of esteem. In his own words, Jon once said "No other baseball strategy has withstood the test of time quite like the bunt...other than, perhaps, the fake-to-third/throw-to-first pickoff attempt. I love that one!"
In any event, a sudden resignation by Fleetwood's Head Bunting Instructor Bert Campaneris left Jon's dream job within his grasp. However, rather than promote his brother to this esteemed position, the elder Kjarsgaard brother went outside the organization to hire Felix Fermin instead. Disgraced by this decision, Jon immediately disowned all ties with not just Fleetwood, but with his brother Joal as well. Joal, shocked by the severity his brother's actions, was all too happy to sever the relationship as well.
Jon quickly landed on his feat, catching on as manager of the Springfield Isotopes. It seems the Isotopes owner, C. Montgomery "Monty" Burns, knew of Jon's vaunted bunting expertise and commitment to fundamental baseball. Long a fan of baseball strategy himself, Burns did not hesitate in bringing this uniquely talented wunderkind into his organization.Jon wasted no time in making his mark in Springfield. After a rebuilding year in 2002, the younger Kjarsgaard led Springfield to back-to-back divisional crowns in 2003 and 2004, and then into the playoffs again in 2005 as a wild card entry.
Meanwhile, his brother Joal struggled to keep up. Fleetwood missed the playoffs by one game in 2002 and lost quickly as a wild card in 2003. After that fleeting success, Fleetwood then endured two dismal years of rebuilding and introspection in 2004 and 2005.
In terms of head-to-head matchups, the younger Kjarsgaard has shown steady year-by-year improvement versus his former mentor. In 2002, Joal's Fleetwood Walkers beat Jon's Springfield Isotopes 5 times in 7 games. Jon would rebound the next year, taking the season series 4 games to 3. Jon built on that success in 2004 by taking 5 of the 7 games, and then improved again in 2005 by winning 6 of the 7 matchups:
2002: Springfield (73-89) 2 wins; Fleetwood (85-78) 5 wins
2003: Springfield (100-62) 4 wins; Fleetwood (91-71) 3 wins
2004: Springfield (99-63) 5 wins, Fleetwood (49-113) 2 wins
2005: Springfield (95-67) 6 wins, Fleetwood (60-102) 1 win
In 2006, however, it seems the pendulum might have finally swung back to the side of the Fleetwood Walkers. Entering July, Fleetwood had regained its footing in the league with a stellar 57-27 record. In Springfield, the opposite was true. After 3 years of championship-caliber baseball, the Isotopes had entered a rebuilding phase of their own and held a nearly opposite record of 23-61.
The 2006 season series opened with the Springfield Isotopes visiting the Fleetwood Walkers for a 3-game set. Facing off on the mound were lefty Cliff Lee for Springfield and righty A.J. Burnett for Fleetwood.
The Walkers grabbed an early lead when David Wright launched a solo home run off Lee in the first. Springfield answered back in the 2nd inning, though, capitalizing on a Justin Morneau triple and a Shannon Stewart RBI single.
Fleetwood grabbed the lead again in the bottom of the 2nd inning, scoring twice on a sacrifice fly by Luis Matos and on an RBI double by Neifi Perez. Again, though, Springfield would come back, first on an RBI single by Lew Ford in the 3rd and then on a sacrifice fly by Keith Ginter in the 4th. The game was tied 3-3 after 4 innings.Derrek Lee, in the midst of a disappointing 2006 campaign, came through for Fleetwood in the 5th inning. His 2-run homer broke the tie, and put Fleetwood up 5-3. The home run proved to be the clinching moment of the game, as the Walkers would go on to add 5 more runs while the Isotopes were held scoreless. Game 1 had gone to Fleetwood by a lopsided score of 10-3.
BOXSCORE: 2006 Springfield Isotopes At 2006 Fleetwood Walkers 7/9/2006
Gm 1: A close game until the late innings; Wright & Lee star for Fleetwood.
Isotopes AB R H RBI AVG Walkers AB R H RBI AVG
K.Johnson RF 4 1 1 0 .244 D.Dejesus LF 5 1 0 0 .272
L.Ford CF 4 0 2 1 .278 D.Wright DH 2 3 2 1 .315
H.Blalock 3B 4 0 0 0 .219 D-J.Phelps PH 1 0 1 2 .292
J.Morneau 1B 3 1 1 0 .218 D.Lee 1B 5 1 2 2 .263
S.Stewart LF 4 1 3 1 .258 M.Cabrera 3B 2 0 0 1 .328
S.Hatteberg DH 4 0 0 0 .216 J.Edmonds CF 3 1 0 0 .240
A.Berroa SS 3 0 1 0 .265 M.Giles 2B 4 0 0 0 .240
A-T.Martinez PH 1 0 0 0 .265 R.Doumit C 3 2 1 0 .247
B-J.Vidro 2B 0 0 0 0 .260 E-R.Castro C 0 0 0 0 .341
K.Ginter 2B,SS 3 0 0 1 .238 L.Matos RF 2 0 0 1 .298
D.Ross C 2 0 0 0 .224 C-J.Dye PH,RF 1 1 1 0 .282
F-M.Grissom PH 1 0 0 0 .171 N.Perez SS 3 1 1 1 .270
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 33 3 8 3 Totals 31 10 8 8
A-Pinch Hit For Berroa In 8th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (2B) For Martinez In 8th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Matos In 8th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Wright In 8th Inning
E-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Doumit In 9th Inning
F-Pinch Hit For Ross In 9th Inning
Isotopes........ 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 - 3 8 3
Walkers......... 1 2 0 0 2 0 2 3 - 10 8 1
Isotopes (23-62) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA SCORESHEET
C.Lee LOSS(5-9) 6 6 5 5 3 7 2 5.01 A1 C8
B.Boyer 1 1/3 1 5 2 2 0 0 3.86 C9 D9
D.Weathers 0 2/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.10 E1
Totals 8 8 10 7 5 8 2
Walkers (68-31) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA SCORESHEET
A.Burnett WIN(17-4) 6 1/3 7 3 3 1 4 0 3.24 A1 C9
S.Downs HOLD(12th) 1 1/3 1 0 0 1 3 0 2.29 D1 D6
D.Turnbow SAVE(19th) 1 1/3 0 0 0 2 2 0 2.68 D7
Totals 9 8 3 3 4 9 0
ATTENDANCE- 30,123 DATE- Wednesday, July 9th 2006 TIME- Night WEATHER- Bad
T- 2:44
LEFT ON BASE- Isotopes: 9 Walkers: 5
DOUBLE PLAYS- Isotopes: 1 Walkers: 1
ERRORS- H.Blalock, A.Berroa, D.Ross, M.Giles
DOUBLES- K.Johnson(9th), L.Ford(20th), J.Dye(24th), N.Perez(14th)
TRIPLES- J.Morneau(3rd)
HOME RUNS- D.Wright(20th), D.Lee(23rd)
STOLEN BASES- S.Stewart-2(11th)
SACRIFICE FLIES- K.Ginter, M.Cabrera, L.Matos
WALKS- K.Johnson, L.Ford, J.Morneau, D.Ross, D.Wright-2, M.Cabrera, J.Edmonds,
N.Perez
HIT BY PITCH- H.Blalock, R.Doumit
STRIKE OUTS- K.Johnson, H.Blalock, S.Stewart, S.Hatteberg, A.Berroa, K.Ginter-2,
D.Ross, M.Grissom, D.Dejesus-4, D.Lee, J.Edmonds, R.Doumit-2
GIDP- K.Ginter, M.Cabrera
PASSED BALLS- D.Ross
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