I left Friday morning to meet some friends and head to Camden to watch the Newark Bears play the Camden Riversharks. We stayed over in Cherry Hill at the same hotel the Bears use.

Matt Melody

Friday night, Camden won 7-6. But the game wasn’t really that close. Newark starter Matt Melody, who just doesn’t seem to have enough experience to pitch at this level, gave up four runs and didn’t make it out of the fourth inning. Ryan Bukvich came on in relief, but he continued to struggle with his control and surrendered three more runs in an inning and a third.

Dewon Brazelton

Meanwhile, the Bears didn’t put their first run on the board until the seventh inning, after Camden starter Dewon Brazelton left the game. The Bears scored all six runs off the Camden bullpen, highlighted by a monster Carl Everett home run in the ninth inning. Riversharks closer Felix Rodriguez was able to hang on for his fourth save of the season, and the Bears fell to just one game above .500.

The Riversharks had a very nice crowd and a great postgame fireworks show.

Saturday, we did a little sightseeing in Philadelphia. We drove by Citizens Bank Park (which looks remarkably similar to Citi Field from the outside) and saw the SS United States, among other things.

The game was more of the same. Kyle Kobernus allowed eight runs in six inning, though only three were earned thanks to some fielding miscues. Willie Banks came on in relief, and allowed two more runs on five walks in one inning. The Bears couldn’t provide enough offense to overcome the deficit, so they lost 10-6.

After the game, we ran into Carl Everett in the team hotel and I was able to get my bat signed. I did not have much luck getting anything signed at the ballpark.

Carl Everett

Today’s game was another one-sided affair, but this time the Bears managed to come out on top. Newark scored six runs off of former Somerset Patriots pitcher Josh Brey in the first three innings. Carl Everett hit another long home run to highlight the scoring.  The Bears added four more runs off of the bullpen before the Riversharks conceded and brought on second baseman Brian Finnegan to pitch the ninth.

Newark’s Jose Garcia carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, when Jon Knott broke it up with a double. Garica allowed four runs, including a homer by Jose Leon, before being lifted in favor of Ramiro Mendoza. The former Yankee escaped the inning and pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth before yielding to Keith Foulke in the ninth. Foulke allowed another run before ending the game, giving the Bears a 10-5 win and letting them finish the weekend a game above .500.

Before the game, Camden held a team autograph session. I was able to get eight cards from this year’s team set signed, along with a handful of cards I brought to Camden.

Though the Bears played better today, they are still not terribly fun to watch right now.

After work tomorrow, I’m planning to go to Newark to watch the Bears play the Long Island Ducks — I will finally have seen all 8 Atlantic League teams, though I had to go to Camden to accomplish this feat before the end of the first half. (The Atlantic League schedule is somewhat bizarre  — the Bears won’t go back to Camden again this year, but the Riversharks haven’t been to Newark at all yet.)

I’m looking forward to seeing Gary Carter and Preston Wilson. After that, we’ll see. I may cut back on the number of games I attend if I don’t start seeing good baseball on a consistent basis.