30+ & 35+ SEASONS COME TO A CLOSE
Playoff losses in the 1st & 2nd rounds respectively, bring a close to rough seasons for Cyclones
 
OF Joselito Paniagua drives a single to right field vs. Mets Aug 1, 2021

Aug 24 , 2021 - It's finally over. The season that would not end, finally came to a close this past Monday night with a 13-2 loss to the Diablos in the 30+ division playoffs. It was the 3-+ Cyclones second loss and they were eliminated from title contention. On August 8th, the 35+ Cyclones lost to the 35+ Houston Hurricanes to end their inaugural season in the 35+ division. 

Both teams endured long and arduous seasons as both teams struggled with roster issues and lack of talent in certain areas that doomed their seasons from the start.  The 30+ Cyclones were never supposed to happen this Spring, but changes to COVID related mandates allowed for the Spring season to begin on time for the 30+ division. As a favor to the league, the 30+ Cyclones were "reformed" in order to have a balanced division. But it was the lack of pitching that doomed the team from the start. That along with questionable defense played a big part in the 30+ Cyclones not winning their first game until their 5th game.

The 35+ Cyclones didn't fare any better and it wasn't until the 9th game of the season that they saw their one and only victory of the season. The lack of chemistry and cohesiveness with the new crop of incoming players played a large part in their failure as team manager Dean Cosme struggled with the right combinations of lineups and defensive positioning throughout most of the season, that only saw that cohesion come together towards the end.

With that said, the 30+ Houston Cyclones have been officially folded and what eligible players they had for 40+ have been transitioned to the new 40+ Houston Cyclones that begins play this Fall 2021 Season. The 35+ Houston Cyclones will return for the Fall 2021 season with new blood and more talent.

35+ CYCLONES FINALLY WIN A GAME
Winless streak ends at 8 games as 35+ Cyclones top the Expos 12-5
 
OF Kyle Keena strokes a single up the middle vs. Expos June 27, 2021

July 26 , 2021 - When a team struggles the way we have this season, it always becomes difficult to field a complete team from the roster that began the season.  Although many times, players are added and dropped from the roster, this late in the season it becomes a struggle to motivate and get the guys who initially signed up to come out and play.  Oddly enough, that has not been the case with the team.  With a few additions, this team has come together and has begun to play better, field better and hit better. It was never more evident that on Sunday as the 35+ Cyclones fell behind early but were able to keep the damage to a minimum in the top of the 1st, only allowing 1 run.  Starting pitcher Dean Cosme got into trouble early giving up hits to the first 3 batters he faced.  Then he walked the 4th batter.  With 1 run in, Cosme induced a pop fly to the infield and then struck out the next 2 batters to escape further trouble.

But on this day, the offense would not be deterred. Led by Luis Garcia III (1-1, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 3 R, 1 SB), the Cyclones would take a 3-1 lead after 1.  The Expos would take on another run in the 2nd to make 3-1 but the Cyclones answered back with a run of their own in the bottom half of the 2nd.  The Expos would return the favor again, this time, scoring 2 runs against Cosme in a shaky inning that flirted with disaster.  But Cosme held on and got out of trouble again.  With the 95 degree weather (105 degree heat index) taking it's toll on the Expos, once again, the offense picked him up as they scored 3 runs to take a 5-4 lead as the Expos ran out of gas and ran out of pitching. Cyclones would not relinquish the lead adding to it in each of the next 2 innings to complete the 12-5 victory.

CYCLONES WIN!!!
Koenig and Boulet go yard as Cyclones down Diablos 10-5
 
SS Daniel Lozano readies himself as the pitch is delivered vs. Marauders May 5, 2021

May 11 , 2021 - Guy Koenig lead off the 2nd inning with a blast to left field. Nine batters later, Diosvany Boulet blasted a 3 run bomb to left field to cap a 9 run 2nd inning. Newly acquired Enzo Zappia also joined in on the action as he went 2-2, 1 2B, 1 run scored, 2 RBI and 8 other Cyclones had at least 1 hit.

LOSING STREAK CONTINUES
Pair of losses keep the Cyclones winless

May 8, 2021 - Embarrassing losses to the Marauders (11-3) and the 30+ Panthers (16-1) extend the losing streak of the Houston Cyclones to four.

THUNDER WALK-OFF CYCLONES
Back and forth battle goes way of the Texas Thunder 11-10

April 29, 2021 - Manager Dean Cosme took the mound last night knowing he didn't have much back up in the event of a dud of a start. Not that he has no confidence in the other pitchers, but the relief corp is still shaking off the rust of years of non-pitching. The rust will leave and there will be better days ahead. On this day however, Cosme stayed in probably 1 inning too long.  He allowed 6 runs through 3 innings but worked out of trouble in the 4th to allow no runs.  But in the 5th inning, he gave up another 3 runs and the lead allowing the Thunder to tie the game 9-9.

The story of the game however, was how neither team was willing to give in. Facing the mighty Thunder with barely a pitching staff is a daunting task, but on this day, the Cyclones offense were up to the task of helping Cosme and the team stay in the game and actually lead most of the contest until the fatal 6th inning.  After allowing the Thunder to tie the game in the 5th, the Cyclones mounted a 2 out rally to go ahead 10-9 with one half inning remaining. But the Thunder would not be denied on this night as the rallied to score 2 runs and walk the Cyclones off 11-10.

CYCLONES REMAIN WINLESS
Previously winless Expos hold on in final inning to defeat Cyclones 11-9

Herb Goodwin grounds a ball thru the infield for a hit vs. Expos April 25, 2021

April 26, 2021 - The errors kept mounting and the inning kept getting longer. But in the end, the Cyclones had only allowed 5 runs.  It seemed worse than that. 5 runs is bad enough but when it feels like more, there's some relief in that.  Down only 4 runs at the time, the deficit didn't seem insurmountable. But then the next inning came.  And the next.  And the next.  It didn't seem as though the Cyclones could stop the Expos from scoring at least 1 run in each inning. And so it came, as the Cyclones were now down 9-6, they needed to hold the Expos to have a chance.  They couldn't do it.  They allowed another 2 runs to fall behind 11-6.

In what would be their final at bat, the Cyclones put up a good showing, scoring 3 more runs to close the gap to 11-9.  But as the final out was caught, time had expired and the final score cemented another loss for the Cyclones.  But through it all, it seems the Cyclones may have found some good players that needed to be figured out and used properly.  The bats came alive, but it's' the glove work that needs some help.  Hopefully help is on the way...

30+ CYCLONES TROUNCED IN OPENER 15-5

April 22, 2021 - The Opening Day (Night) Game for the 30+ Cyclones had arrived and the Cyclones were still not really ready.  The roster was taking shape but in reality, there were so many unknowns, it was a guess to what kind of team Mgr Dean Cosme would have. 7 new players, of which only 1 did Cosme have any previous knowledge of. Were the new players going to be baseball players? Or were they going to be people that read an ad online and said "I've always wanted to try baseball" and got assigned to the team. It's happened before.  No matter how much conversation you have with a person, unless you get them on a field and practice, you never know what your getting. In this particular case however, the players are baseball players ranging in skill level, but players nonetheless. In the end, it appears that with the addition of 1 or 2 players over time, the team has the parts in place to be a very competitive team.  This season however, may prove more challenging.

In the first game of the season against the Marauders, it was apparent that quality pitching is the main problem, or the lack thereof. And that's not to say that what is presently on the team cannot improve, it's just that it takes time for players to get back into the swing of things after years of not playing baseball competitively.  What the team has now will be get better.  It will improve.  But as to how long it will take is anyone's guess.

The game against the Marauders didn't go as planned.  Historically, games vs. the Marauders have been close affairs with an occasional blowout by either team.  It appeared that the pendulum had swung in their direction and it was their turn.  The Cyclones allowed at least 2 runs in each of the 5 innings they played and ultimately gave up 15 runs altogether.

Offensively, the Cyclones should be fine. It's just going to take a few games to get a good lineup together once it's clear who can hot and who needs work. Only time will tell how this season will go.  There's a storm coming, but will it wreck havoc or fizzle out?

HURRICANES STORM PAST CYCLONES 18-4

Dre Vappie watches his double go into right center field vs. Houston Hurricanes April 18, 2021

April 19, 2021 - Things haven't gone as expected for the Cyclones so far in the early going, but that doesn't mean all hope is lost. It's still early in the season and things will turn around. But when and where is anyone's guess. On Sunday, starting pitcher Dean Cosme wasn't expecting top start and had no properly warmed up, when he took the mound and promptly showed his lack of command by walking the first 2 batters he faced.  Overall, Cosme allowed 6 runs in 2 innings and came back in the 6th inning to allow 2 more runs. Ronnie Hessel relieved Cosme in the 3rd and allowed 3 runs overall, but it was more the doing of his injured ankle, injured in between innings after a misstep in the dugout. Guy Koenig came in to relieve Ronnie, but did not fair well either.

On the other side of the ball, the Cyclones were relatively stifled.  Guy and Dre Vappie continued their hot hitting as Guy reached base twice, scoring once and Dre went 2-3 with a double and a run scored. Joselito Paniagua, making his return to the Cyclones after 3 years away, went 1 for 2 with a double and a  run scored. In time, the rest of the team will catch up and wins will begin to come the Cyclones way.

CYCLONES FALL IN OPENER 11-7

April 12, 2021 - New name, new team, new division, new uniforms. It's a new beginning for the Cyclones as Owner/GM/Manager Dean Cosme officially changed the name of the team to the Houston Cyclones. With that change, he started a new team for a new division.  The 35+ Houston Cyclones is a completely different team than the one that plays weeknights in the 30+ division. While there are a couple of players that are playing on both teams, for the most part, it's all new.

That being the case, it will take a couple of games to get to know all the new guys and see their strengths and weaknesses. In the meantime however, the game must go on and this past Sunday, the Cyclones faced the Heights Mets at the new league's new ballpark, Peggy Park. Facing familiar foes, Cosme started on the mound, for his first game action since December 2020 and while he was effective early, struggled in the 4th inning and gave way to returning veteran Ronnie Hesssel who well in his return to game action.

On the other side of the ball, the Cyclones scored 7 runs on 15 hits. The offense was led by Ronnie Hessel (2-4, 4 RBI), Kyle Keena (2-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 2 RBI) & Guy Koenig (2-3, 1 2B, 3 R). 6 others also had at least 1 hit. In the end, 7 runs wasn't enough to take the victory, but it offered promise to the future.

While there were some miscues on the bases, with a few adjustments to the lineup, the Cyclones should be an offense to be reckoned with. In the meantime, the Cyclones need to get in the win column first.

SPRING 2021 SEASON IS UPON US

April 5, 2021 - With the cold weather and the snow (did I just write snow?) behind us, it's time to concentrate on that annual ritual of Spring...Baseball!!! This year is no different albeit with a different set of protocols designed to keep all players and associated friends and family safe.  We live in a COVID world right now, but many things are getting back to normal and men's league baseball is no exception. This season, the Cyclones will be playing in the 35+ Sunday division.  City fields will be back up and running shortly so that means the 30+ and 40+ divisions will also be back up and running as normal pretty soon.  With the Cyclones committed to 35+, the 30+ Cyclones will probably wait until Fall to go back to the city.  But for now, let's play ball!