The trips north to play the Bangor Lumberjacks this week and last have had a bit more significance for a pair of Aces.

Outfielder Schuyler Doakes and pitcher Brandon Bowe used to wear Lumberjacks uniforms rather than the similar black, red, and white Aces’ version.

Last week marked the first time either had played a game at Husson College’s Winkin Complex, the Lumberjacks’ new home field.

“It’s a little different, but I started out the year on the road with them, so I never got to experience a game in uniform here as a home team guy, so it’s not that strange,” Bowe said.

Bowe was released by Bangor almost three weeks ago and quickly claimed by the Aces, a traveling team that was put together by the Northeast League to fill a gaping hole on the schedule created when the Allentown (Pa.) Ambassadors abruptly folded a month before this season began.

“They picked me up when Bangor put me on waivers and it’s nice to have a familiar face in Schuyler here when I joined the team,” Bowe said.

Doakes, Bangor’s top base stealer last season with 29 after joining the team 61/2 weeks into the season, was traded from Bangor to the Aces for future considerations back in late May.

“It’s great to see some of the guys I played with last year again,” Doakes said. “Off the field, we do some things… Go out to eat or whatever.

“On the field, it’s a little difficult because they all know your game. You think you know what they’re going to do and that’s not necessarily what happens.”

The significance of the Aces series hasn’t been lost on Bangor starting pitcher Jerry Long, who played with both ex-Lumberjacks.

“It’s different,” said the ‘Jacks righthander. “They’ve been my teammates and I’m usually rooting for them, but now I’m trying to get them out and rooting against them.”

The two teams meet again tonight and Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

Traveling men

Both Bowe and Doakes are dealing with the unique challenges of playing for the only minor league team currently in operation that plays no home games.

“I never would have thought I’d end up on a traveling team of any kind, but it’s been quite an experience so far,” said Bowe (0-1, 11.57 ERA with the Aces). “I’ve always liked to be on the road, so that doesn’t bother me. I enjoy road trips.

“I don’t mind living out of hotels and having maid service and cable TV all the time. I don’t have to worry about rent to pay or buying stuff for my apartment. Plus we have a meal allowance every day… I can’t complain.”

After initially starting for the Aces when he joined the team two weeks ago, the 28-year-old righty has been converted back to bullpen duty.

“I was starting, but I had tendinitis and had to take a week off, so now I’m out of the pen now, and I kind of like that better,” he said.

Doakes, a fifth-grade teacher in Southfield, Mich., in the offseason, says the constant travel can be stressful to a family guy (he has a daughter), but the most frustrating thing is trying to string some wins together for the Northeast League’s least-winning team.

Through Sunday, the Aces were last, 13 games out of first place in the South Division with a 4-24 record.

“We’re a little frustrated, but we’ve been playing better and better and we can win. We can beat any team in the league. We just have to go out and do it,” said Doakes, who was hitting .247 with two RBIs and eight steals through Sunday. “I wouldn’t say we’re an underdog team. The chemistry is there now. We’ve just got to get it going.”

Doakes’ take on things may seem simplistic, but when comparing the plight of his team to real life – in particular, his – one can understand why he sees things in less dramatic fashion.

Doakes recently played just hours after learning an ex-girlfriend was killed along with six other passengers in a car crash on a bridge in Ohio.

“It was very difficult. I lost a very dear friend. I just talked to my family and they said to pray and go out and play for her,” Doakes said. “She was coming back from an amusement park and hit a semi. There were seven people in her car. A car swerved, hit the semi, and the semi came across the lane and hit them head on. The car hit and then it went over the rail and into a river.”

Capping it all off

According to official sales figures compiled by New Era, official cap maker and supplier for Major League Baseball and most minor league teams, the Portland Sea Dogs are No. 3 on the bestseller list.

Portland, annually one of the most popular teams in terms of merchandise sales, is ranked third behind the top-selling Lake Elsinore Storm – a Single A affiliate of the San Diego Padres – and No. 2 Albuquerque Isotopes – the Florida Marlins’ Triple A team – in minor league baseball cap sales.

Rounding out the top seven are the Brooklyn Cyclones, Lake County Captains, Lakewood Blue Claws, and Fresno Grizzlies.

Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600 or at aneff@bangordailynews.net