- East Bay Prep Corner
NCS baseball impressions
By Ben Enos
Sunday, May 22nd, 2011 at 11:06 pm in Baseball.
Alrighty, I promised you some reaction to today’s NCS baseball seeding meeting, so here goes. I’m gonna do the top three divisions.
DIVISION I
Top seeds: No. 1 San Ramon Valley, No. 2 James Logan, No. 3 California, No. 4 De La Salle
Sleepers: No. 8 Heritage, No. 12 College Park
What was the committee thinking?: I couldn’t begin to tell you what happened with Antioch’s initial inclusion into the bracket. Mix-ups happen, I can deal with that. But, I gotta say, whatever the issue, it would’ve been a whole lot easier to take had it happened out in the open rather than behind closed doors. It’s time for the Board of Managers to fix what it messed up. Closed door meetings leave us with questions like this one. … Also, can we not get league matchups in the first round when avoidable? Heritage can’t be happy tonight.
General thoughts: We all know that pitching solves all ills in baseball. So, who has the best pitching? I don’t see a ton of one-two punch teams like the top two seeds this year. Hochstatter and Slinger for SRV and the stable of arms at Logan really seem to be tough to beat. To me, the successful team in Division I this year will be the one that gets two big performances from a No. 2 starter. … Most intriguing first-round matchups to me are Granada-College Park and Cal-BOD. I like Granada a lot, I think the Mats are very, very scrappy. But, CP has a great record. Home field might mean something in that one. Home field won’t mean a ton in the Cal-BOD game, because if any team is going to go to Cal and be immune to the short fences, it’s BOD. I’m intrigued because it’s potentially a tremendous pitching matchup between Brisentine and Ross. Cal getting the 3 seed is fine by me, but the Grizzlies certainly didn’t get a reward in having to face a potential first-round draft pick. … Castro Valley is hot. Watch out for the Trojans and Matt Narahara. … No matter how De La Salle does in the first round, it’s already a heckuva turnaround season. This team went nowhere last year and now is a top four seed.
DIVISION II
Top seeds: No. 1 Alameda, No. 2 Clayton Valley, No. 3 Petaluma, No. 4 Campolindo
Sleepers: No. 7 Rancho Cotate, No. 11 Cardinal Newman
What was the committee thinking: Don’t see a ton wrong with this bracket. Diverse matchups, records line up with seeds, etc.
General thoughts: With Campo getting the 4 seed, we could see a last year’s title game in this year’s semifinals. Online controversy aside, there’s a reason Alameda is No. 1 in the East Bay. The Hornets are fundamentally sound, they have the pitching and they’re clutch. Also, they’ve been there before. … I still like Campo a whole lot. Winning the DFAL this year was no small feat, and they’ll line up two good starters in James Marvel and Trent Shelton. They also have a very good No. 3 in Matt Bruzzone. … Arroyo-Las Lomas is an intriguing matchup to me. Michael Pope is a great pitcher, and it really seems like Lomas is believing in itself these days. The Knights aren’t just going away. … I’ve long believed the Clayton Valley coaching staff is good, but this year the Uglies are outdoing themselves. To lose Meadows and still keep winning is a pretty impressive feat. … Petaluma’s won five in a row, a couple by close scores. That’s a good lead-in to a playoff run.
DIVISION III
Top seeds: No. 1 San Marin, No. 2 Miramonte, No. 3 Acalanes, No. 4 Sonoma Valley
Sleepers: No. 6 Drake, No. 7 Alhambra
What was the committee thinking: This is the bracket where I would’ve most loved to be a fly on the wall when it was created, because I think this is where computer ratings came into play the most. I dunno. For some of the seeds, I just don’t see it.
General thoughts: The decision to start a BSAL playoff threw a major monkey wrench in the proceedings. Albany won the regular season title by a full four games, won the Alhambra Easter Tournament and then lost in the BSAL playoffs. So now, Alhambra has to go to Encinal instead of hosting in Martinez. Stargell Field will help the Jets, for sure. … El Cerrito-Moreau is going to be a great first-round game. According to the ratings, Moreau got slighted a little. They get an EC team that scratched and clawed its way to the title game last year. … One player to watch in this bracket? Alhambra’s Robert Stephenson. Yes, he’s as good as advertised, and he’s extremely smart to boot. … Acalanes gets the good scheduling award. Beating Moreau last week had to help the Dons’ cause in the room. … The consensus from most coaches I’ve talked to is that San Marin is really that good this year. But, Drake managed to beat SM to end the regular season, and that gives hope to the field.
Alright everyone. Look out for our print breakdowns on Tuesday, and feel free to discuss here. I’ll try to tack on D-IV tomorrow as well. I know we’ve got some opinions out there. I’ll try to give you some thoughts after the first round is done.
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May 23rd, 2011 at 7:11 am
why on earth do the north bay teams get so much respect in that room?
May 23rd, 2011 at 10:00 am
@Mediocre… Why shouldn’t they? Give an example/proof!
May 23rd, 2011 at 10:25 am
How on earth does Castro Valley make the field with an illegal 25th game (league game has to count even if forfeited) in their record?
NCS is a sham.
May 23rd, 2011 at 11:39 am
Ball Four,
Castro Valley didn’t play the 25th game. The forfeit did count as a loss in league. They only had three losses in league. Castro Valley was a good team, they deserved to be in NCS.
May 23rd, 2011 at 11:52 am
The limit is on how many games a team can physically play. They didn’t play the 25th game, hence it doesn’t ding them.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:00 pm
It may not matter where Castro Valley was seeded with their best player suspended or worse from school. They will surely be 1 and done.
May 23rd, 2011 at 4:29 pm
Castro Valley was not a good team. And I disagree with you Jimmy. It is a league game therefore it counts, played or not. That is why they have a 15-10 record.
They should have been removed for playing too many non-league games.
May 23rd, 2011 at 4:32 pm
What? Did something happen with Narahara? Suspended?
May 23rd, 2011 at 4:59 pm
I heard a rumor that there was some sort of on campus issue and that he might be suspended, but I’ll leave it at that. They will need him to have any chance in the playoffs, both on the hill and at the plate.
May 23rd, 2011 at 5:03 pm
that is the same rumor I heard Prep Fan
May 23rd, 2011 at 5:43 pm
Ball Four,
It goes into the record, yes, but the rules are for games “played.” They didn’t play it, hence it doesn’t count. Pretty simple.
May 23rd, 2011 at 5:54 pm
Is the Logan-Berkeley game really at 7:00? They must have some sort of field availability issue to be going under the lights.
May 23rd, 2011 at 6:09 pm
Lets take another scenario. Say Castro Valley knew they were going to lose to a league team such as San Leandro. They could just forfeit that game and play a non-league “GAME THAT COUNTS” against the worst team in NCS for example. Plus with 25 games, they could prevent a 12-12 record by going 13-12.
This is blatant rule manipulation and NCS should put a harsh stop to it.
May 23rd, 2011 at 6:10 pm
That 12-12 record would not qualify them for NCS but 13-12 does. Just a reason why allowing 25 games should not be allowed. Sure, they have enough league wins in this case but NCS opened the door to blatant cheating.
May 23rd, 2011 at 6:38 pm
Ball Four You have a very Valid Point. Also, with what happened with the Antioch situation and other seeding blunders, Why not bring back the Open Door Seeding? On another note, I’ve mentioned before that there could and should be a State Championship for Baseball. Most teams play about 24 games. Knock off 4 games down to 20 that’s plenty and you should be able to complete a State Championship before the end of the school year.
May 23rd, 2011 at 7:01 pm
It’s pretty obvious that Ball Four (barnesandnoble on rivals) is convinced that Castro Valley should not have been in the playoffs and nothing is going to convince him otherwise. After all, he’s been beating this dead horse for over a week.
While the point that schedule manipulation in the case of a 13-12 record may have theoretically been possible, that wasn’t the case here since Castro Valley won 15 of their 24 games. Even in the face of the game they forfeited (to San Leandro, a team they had already beaten earlier in the season 9-1), they were designated the league champion based on the tiebreakers and thus were automatically going to be in the NCS playoffs. Their forfeit did not prevent any teams from qualifying for the playoffs, and really only hurt themselves – costing them an outright HAAL title and revealing a poor job of scheduling on their part. The players on the team played the same number of games as any other eligible team, and the only ones who really were wronged were the San Leandro kids who were deprived of one last high school game in their careers.
So in the face of all of that, why is anybody really all that worked up about whether Castro Valley should have been allowed to go to the NCS playoffs?
May 23rd, 2011 at 7:19 pm
You state a valid point. The reason that this must be punished in some factor as the last home game for San Leandro was technically their senior day, the last game for some high school players at their home field.
Now when some scenario comes up with that 13-12 record in the future, one will go back to the precedent set by NCS here.
May 23rd, 2011 at 7:20 pm
Here is my example:
Foothill High School 12-12 record. Not qualified.
Foothill forfeits to San Ramon Valley. Plays Tennyson.
13-12 record. Makes NCS.
May 23rd, 2011 at 7:21 pm
I want to see Ben Enos ask NCS office about how this is now prevented…they have opened the door to cheating.
May 23rd, 2011 at 7:30 pm
petaluma a non-league champ getting the 2 seed is outrageous…there’s your proff. The SCL champ got the 4 seed in d3>>this makes NO sense.
May 23rd, 2011 at 7:48 pm
@mediocre: Get your facts straight! Petaluma was the co champ with Casa Grande, Sonoma was right behind them. Petaluma went 3-1-1 against East Bay teams. Beating Campo, Las Lomas, and Concord. Tied Northgate and only lost to Dublin when Martinez threw. And Petaluma got the #3 seed, not the #2… You’re an unmade bed!
What happened to Martinez, btw?
May 23rd, 2011 at 8:44 pm
There is no way a team should be allowed to forfeit a league game to stay at 24 games. What kind of coach schedules too many games? If they were in a tourney, and an extra game was scheduled, they should have walked away from that game and there would be no issue.
May 23rd, 2011 at 10:17 pm
Jeez ball four, get a life! Did someone from the CV program steal your first born? The chip on your shoulder is very unbecoming.
Your preposterous example of how some 12-12 team could job the system is so laughable, you must certainly be the only person in the east bay that thinks this could actually happen.
Clearly, you have an axe to grind with the CV program in some capacity; quit while you are behind and move on.
May 23rd, 2011 at 11:48 pm
Prep Fan, the Logan game is at 7. The NCS normally tries to go as late as possible with games so more people can attend, and since Logan has lights, they made the switch. I think that’s normal practice for the Colts in the postseason.
May 24th, 2011 at 4:23 am
CV to me earned the right to play it was the new head coach who is at fault for the schedule blunder. It seems the majority here would like the committee to go back to the good old days of the Open Door Seedings. My question is who voted for the closed door and why? Was it Coaches? AD’s? Principals?
May 24th, 2011 at 1:25 pm
We don’t know who voted for the closed door meetings as it was a secret vote.
May 24th, 2011 at 8:00 pm
What a Nail biter! Arroyo wins 3-2 in the bottom of the 7th. Heckuva team Las Lomas has. They will be back next year.
May 24th, 2011 at 8:12 pm
Before the finals roll in, (groundskeeper’s fast) what’s the pulse regarding Mitch Stephen’s Chron article after Carlmont #16 beat St. Francis #1 in their first rounder? He advocates using eight seeds with a double elimination bracket over the two week time frame (essentially favoring schools with two solid starters versus a single ace) … this would’ve left out DV, CaV, Irv, CP, MSJ, BOD and Berk., adding MUCHO subjectivity into the “committee’s” picks. Butch to Sundance, “Who are those guys?!”
Ben/Jimmy- like/not/sounds interesting?
May 24th, 2011 at 8:17 pm
CHS, it sounds interesting. Like you said, you’d be leaving out quite a few good teams. But, it brings in double-elimination which I think is good in baseball.
The way I see it, the current system favors schools with two solid starters as well. Whoever has a good No. 2 has a leg up in the second round.
I dunno how I feel about it. I feel like 16 is too many, but I kinda feel like 8 is too few. It’s a tough call. Interesting idea though, and I’m all for interesting ideas when it comes to playoff formats.
May 24th, 2011 at 11:03 pm
I have a solution to your proposal Ben Enos! You could have 12 teams in the tournament! Seeds 1-4 get first round byes, while 5 plays 12, 6 plays 11, 7 plays 10, 8 plays 9 in the first round, with the winners facing the 4, 3, 2, and 1 seeds respectively. If you still feel the teams are too many or too few, you can simply knock a team out from the bottom and reward the highest seed who origionally didn’t have a first-round bye a first-round bye, or you can add a team to the bottom and take away the first-round bye of the lowest seed to have that and make a matchup out of those two teams. That’s the strength of NCS in the face of all of their weaknesses, they design their brackets to where it’s easy to remove teams or add teams!
As far as the double-elimination proposal, that would make a much better tournament, because then teams do not have to worry about running into red-hot pitchers which may be able to (almost) defeat the entire team by himself in the best of his times. That is a bias not worth its’ own onions. The problem is that may not be the case with those of the NCS. There is so much information processing going on that red tape stands in their way of making these fancy tournaments. They have to stick to the general format they have, because it’s the best value deal for them. But what’s special about your tough call Ben is that it’s not even a tough call for the NCS! Get it? The irony!
May 24th, 2011 at 11:40 pm
I like how the SJS does baseball and softball. Teams that lose in the first round are out. Starting in round 2 it is double elimination.
May 25th, 2011 at 8:46 am
What about Alhambra? They have a professional quality player as a pitcher. If they could pitch him every game they would never lose. The rest of the team, cant hit. Throw off speed in the dirt and they fish. The two coaches are horrible, I know I played for them. The one coach said his freshman son has to be on varsity or he will have to step down to watch him. The head coach(Heeb)says not a problem, he was on the Varsity roster before he was in high school. The stories I have been told by past players about high school sports politics, very true I lived it for 4 years. When these coaches said I would never see a varsity uniform and would probably cut myself by quitting, they were wrong. I walked on to a D2 school and made the starting lineup.All you players out there thinking of quitting because of a coach, dont. To coach Heeb and Costa quit making out your starting lineups a year in advance, your not that skilled give everyone a chance.
May 25th, 2011 at 9:24 am
@ Bill Long
I agree with you on most parts. I think coach Heeb could be a decent coach if Leo wasn’t there, he runs the show and Heeb follows but thats because Heeb can only talk the game. The talk around the school was the varsity played the jv in a game and only beat them 1 to 0. The coach of the jv team gave them a steady diet of off speed and corners acording to a few of my friends on the team and made them look silly. Kudos to the jv and the players that deserve a chance to play on varsity. Ask coach Heeb why his own kid quit playing? He got tired of seeing a few players kiss his dads a** to be his friend. Thank god I am out of there. Good luck to them anyway most of the kids deserve it but not the two morons.
May 25th, 2011 at 11:23 am
Bill Long…..sorry to hear about your situation with those coaches…I don’t know them or the program. But baseball is a sport where coaches at every level are going to tell kids and show kids that they aren’t big enough, strong enough or fast enough to continue. Its up to the kid to have enough heart to keep playing and refuse to give up. The KID has to have this, not the parents of the kid. This unfortunate journey makes the finish line that much more rewarding….adversity will make a baseball player. The players that are handed everything as they go up through the system are stonewalled and begging for help as soon as they face a tough issue or situation later in their careers. A lot of them just take the easy way out and quit! Baseball is a definite “turtle can catch the hare” type sport as you progress.
Nice job on your part to show them wrong!!!
May 25th, 2011 at 11:35 am
Well said Triton8!
May 25th, 2011 at 5:48 pm
BOD 2 CAL 0 and no hits for cal yet, bottom third. It’s going to come down to the latter innings, I’m sure.
May 25th, 2011 at 5:53 pm
Third inning still no hits for CAL. Not good. I’ve changed my mind, see baseball seeding blog for CAL updates. Sorry.
May 25th, 2011 at 7:18 pm
O’Dowd beats Cal High
May 25th, 2011 at 8:40 pm
Moreau beats El Cerrito 6-1
May 25th, 2011 at 8:51 pm
In case you HAAL haters missed it O’Dowd, Arroyo and Moreau moved on to the second round of the NCS, while teams from the EBAL, DFAL, ACCAL went home.
May 25th, 2011 at 9:02 pm
Go HAAL!!
May 25th, 2011 at 9:15 pm
O dowd the only team that really deserve credit, Arroyo and Moreau bothe beat 8 seeds and they were a 9 seed themselves big whoop. Oh and btw, Besides Alameda and Clayton div 2 is a joke
May 25th, 2011 at 9:18 pm
Did Alameda win
May 25th, 2011 at 9:42 pm
#42..Hmmm, Arroyo tied Irvington early in the season 5-5 and then beat them 8-3. Irvington beats Monte Vista and faces BOD Saturday. Both BOD and Irvington are D1 teams who Arroyo beat. Still think Div 2 is a joke?
May 25th, 2011 at 9:49 pm
Alameda won 15-6. They play Arroyo Saturday at 5pm Lincoln Park.
May 25th, 2011 at 10:11 pm
Is teh Arroyo/Alameda game at Lincoln Park or Alameda High? The NCS web site says Alameda High.
May 25th, 2011 at 10:13 pm
Irvington is a joke in themselves so I wnt even get into that, and Arroyo vs Alameda? 2 and a BBQ Arroyo!
May 25th, 2011 at 10:23 pm
Alameda usually plays all their home games at Lincoln Park. If it’s at Alameda High that’s a new one on me.
May 25th, 2011 at 11:36 pm
I watched Alameda beat Berk and they are a much better team. Their ace has a sore elbow but Arroyo can’t hit. I would be shocked if this game is close.
May 26th, 2011 at 5:42 am
When they Arroyo played Alameda earlier. Arroyo was up 3-1 going to the bottom 6th. Alameda score 1 unearned run in the 6th and 2 in the 7th to win. If Arroyo made 2 plays they would have won.
May 26th, 2011 at 7:51 am
Ethnicsands “Oh and btw, Besides Alameda and Clayton div 2 is a joke”
you left out last year’s D2 champ campolindo
May 26th, 2011 at 8:24 am
Dave, yee should pitch saturday but by the time the kid graduates that arm will be fried like they did with anthony wood a few yrs back. 130 pitches vs berkeley you know more than half were curveballs alot of stress on the elbow. Arroyo will be motivated with yamo coming back to lincoln park too bad alameda no longer could pay him according to ken no money in the slush fund for him. With all that little league money they get they couldnt pay yamo an alameda lifer its a shame. Must be nice to have the little league president in your dugout provides the cash and the booze. He doesnt know baseball but keeps a nice book!
May 26th, 2011 at 9:46 am
Yeah thts it Dnraap, compare regular season to NCS because they are so the same. And yes I did leave out campolindo, haven’t seen them at all actually but I have seen Alameda and Clayton and believe one of these 2 will win Div2
May 26th, 2011 at 11:26 am
There you go again King…..can’t stay quiet for long, huh? Leave Yamo off of your little hate island….he is too cool to be linked to you. Took yesterdays game off? I bet you were feeling great when you heard your sons team was down in the 5th, right?
Do you get off on hearing yourself talk, write and type….obviously you get mad when people don’t pay attention to your ramblings….
Whether your sending letters or blogging…..no one wants to listen.
Nobody knows baseball as well as you……BTW…where did you play?
May 26th, 2011 at 12:15 pm
Triton8 this is the last week youll get to play one good team a week. Its looking like campo & clayton valley if you get past arroyo. So get your pitching ready yesterdays guys wont cut it. Cobb wont sneak up on anyone this time everyone knows he’s 90% curveball. Asfor yee i hope he’s healthy good kid but you know sherratt he’ll keep calling those hooks!
May 26th, 2011 at 1:04 pm
Actually, my team is already out: The Encinal Jets!
But I just hate to see people try to bring other people down. And I hate to see this blog used to attack kids and coaches…..the blog is for sports opinions and fun back and forth. It’s not to attack High school players and high school coaches…..or to carry out personal attacks on people you have personal issues with!
May 26th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
You bring up a great point Tri. And Alameda is known for over throwing pitchers. There was even an article in the paper about it. It’s a shame when winning a high school game is more important than the player. When they had Priese I heard his dad got him his own coach and kept his pitch count because of this. Smart dad. Coach K is very competitive but would never compromise the player. We are lucky to have the enigizer bunny.
May 26th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Not bringing anybody down. Just acknowledging the great pitching of Joe Ross and Evan Brisentine yesterday. If you want to attribute Ross’s effort to his coach, that’s great. This game is about the kids and Ross threw a gem. Coach K didn’t do anything to disturb the masterpiece such as try to remove him after 4 or 5 innings to save him for the next round. BOD is lucky to have Irvington defeat MV with just 1 hit, and if they can get by them on Saturday, they’ll be able to throw Ross again in the semis. They have a legitimate shot at the finals as the chips have fallen for them.
May 26th, 2011 at 3:20 pm
I’m sure Ross deserves all the credit for his effort, and it is a kids game…..they do decide the games on the field. A coach deserves just as much credit for a win than he does when they lose. Unfortunately, most of the parents will blow up only after they think that he does something not in the best interests of their kids. A bad coach can take down a talented team. A good coach can coach an average team to play great. Sometimes the best thing a coach can do is nothing…
Either way, even though Ross is coached everyday in practice, I’m sure Coach K would give all the credit to Ross. Knowing Kris, I’m sure he calls a pitch or two during the course of a game though??? Nice job Dragons!
May 26th, 2011 at 5:22 pm
“Groundskeeper” your are right the Arroyo v Las Lomas was a great game to the end. To all you haters. Arroyo is actually a great team and if it wasn’t for the forfeit they would have taken first all by themselves (not tied for 1st). And as much as you all think Arroyo in not hitting neither are all of you! That’s just saying the we ALL have good pitchers in our league. ARROYO good luck on Saturday.
May 26th, 2011 at 6:37 pm
The new bats have slowed down the hitting. If their ace can go Arroyo will not score. I would like to see an upset here (for the haal)but Alameda is much more talented.
May 26th, 2011 at 7:04 pm
Like Irvington’s head coach said, “In baseball it’s not always the best team that wins, but the team that plays the best.”
May 26th, 2011 at 8:04 pm
It has been a while since I last offered input in the blog….but considering the comments herein, opinion MUST be offered.
First of all, I am certain the pros out there (Kyle, Ben, Durkin…and if i missed someone..my bad) are having a field day with the input and talking to s sports=related publisher to put together a book. NO doubt about that.
Having said that, lets start.
There are good coaches…and bad ones too. Some have the sport and the player and the team/league as their focus towards the quality of play…and game. Others only want a win…at ANY cost. Be it respect or ethics..It just doesn’t matter. We have seen them at Little League, Cal Ripkin, Babe Ruth, American Legion…it’s out there. It just IS. Having said that, who is responsible?? WE ARE! If you ‘peel the onion’, and ‘get to core’…IT IS WHAT IT IS!
Next, clearly there are ‘haters’ out there. But, for the record, Castro Valley absolutely deserved to be in NCS. They did NOT violate the NCS rules re: number of games. Could someone say they were ‘creative’ to insure they were within the dictate of the NCS rules???? Maybe, probably, lets hold that til later.
As to my baseball colleagues in the TriValley, I remember a comment by a California High fan saying that Cal had an easy 1st round game vs. BOD….NOT! aND THIS IS WHAT i AM TALKING ABOUT. There is a general lack of respect given to schools West of the Hill. And to the pros here…you know it as well. Maybe financial resources aren’t there to cover the games or the Tri-Valley area ‘sells’ more at the expense of the West of Hills area. But whatever the reason, this is about the glory and beauty of baseball. And we all should celebrate its quality play WHEREEVER it might be played.
Item last…for now…until my next rant. I always question, when I go to MaxPreps, to take a look ata schools’ schedule…or stats…when a school doesnt include their info. Are they ‘scared’ of letting the world know what their stats are?? Are they hiding something? Are they impacting the potential recruitment of their players by colleges across the nation??
Just wondering…and I DEFINITELY look forward to your feedback…especially you ball four…and any and all of ‘pros’ out there….REAL PROS!!!! LOL…more later…
May 26th, 2011 at 8:14 pm
OH…BTW, lest you have a poor memory…or just didnt know the facts…when Alameda defeated Arroyo 4 – 3 in pre-league play, in enroute to their current 24 – 1 record, of the four runs the Hornets scored, NONE were earned. They were ALL as a result of Dons errors.
Now, if you were 24-1, and you knew that you were playing a team that shut you down offensively…well…you get the idea. No predictions…should be an OUTSTANDING GAME…and…it brings back memories…2008, a Jordan Pries=led Alameda team playing Arroyo…at Lincoln Field…and losing to the Dons…Like I said before…it IS what it is…good luck out there!!
May 26th, 2011 at 8:19 pm
Erndog, As for the Cal fan who thought that Cal had an easy first round game and side of the bracket, this Cal fan quickly corrected that person and advised that Joe Ross was one of the top pitchers in the Bay Area and it was definitely not a good draw. I don’t think they were looking at whether the team was West of the hills, but more in terms of how they had been ranked by both the Pros and by MaxPreps-Freeman. On paper, BOD may have looked like a good draw. But as has been discussed on here, it is very hard to take into account individual pitching matchups when ranking teams, and all it takes is one outstanding pitching performance to propel a team to an “upset”. Anyone who has seen Joe Ross pitch knows that yesterday’s 1-hittter was not an upset but a very possible result anytime he goes out to the bump against any HS team.
May 26th, 2011 at 9:03 pm
Prep Fan, my apol for missing your comment. As for Joe Ross…quality pitcher…and person. I cant wait to see Ross vs. Pries down on the Farm next season.
My comment re: a East of Hills bias is much more far reaching that just the BOD -Cal game. But lets discuss that another day.
Item last: It appears taht the NCS website is wrong re: locale of Alameda / Arroyo. Game date/time = Sat. at 5p at Lincoln Park. Hey…PROS, please confirm ASAP.
May 26th, 2011 at 9:14 pm
Arroyo vs Alameda 5 pm on Saturday at Lincoln Park, Alameda.
May 26th, 2011 at 9:57 pm
NCS needs to fix that. Nice take Erndog on the history of Arroyo vs Alameda. Should be fun. Go Dons!
May 26th, 2011 at 10:10 pm
Alameda by 5
May 26th, 2011 at 11:31 pm
Pries and Ross will be in pro ball Earn. As for max prep stat updates, not every coach is honest so why post. Work like we do and study and scout. But everyone can not be an enigizer bunny.
May 27th, 2011 at 4:12 am
I think posting to Max Preps should be mandatory. Even the Seeding is done online now. Might as well make it a clean sweep but to each his own. And Now I’m Calling out Tony, Ben, Jimmy and I know I’m missing one(Sorry too early to check) Could one of you Good Reporters please set up the Live Update Blog for the Games? It’s second round now and heating up. I’m sure there’s some other working or otherwise busy individuals that can’t get out to the games that would really appreciate your Live Updates. Oh yeah, and Tony are you gonna Cover Arroyo vs Alameda? If so I might come chat a little.
May 27th, 2011 at 6:27 am
Dave, you have a way of stating the obvious. Of course Pries and Ross will be going the pro route. And all success to them both as they go forward in baseball.
And, as for your comment about MaxPreps, in these days of complete transparancy, it would seem you are opposed. An NCS rule requiring upload of team and game stats seems quite reasonable and fair. But oh…thats right…NCS makes their seeding decisions behind a closed door…in secrecy… Oh well, it was a good thought…
May 27th, 2011 at 6:40 am
Ern I was refering to your anticipation of watching them play on the farm. I was not aware it was a ncs rule to upload stats.
May 27th, 2011 at 8:43 am
Let’s be real here regarding posting stats on Max Preps. Batting averages and earned runs (two stats that most of us go to first) are so subjective as to render them useless. Try this….See how many scorekeeping moms keep track of ROE (reached on errors). You will find it runs the gamut of quite a few (more accurate) to zero (everybody on the team has a high batting average; hence, less accurate).
A quick check of stats posted on MaxPreps…A team from Ohio has a TEAM batting average of .499! And the best one, a team with a TEAM ERA of 0.00, even though the team had given up 159 runs!
Let’s face it, stats shown on Max Preps are created and perpetuated by parents, who for the most part, can hardly be described as unbiased. It is a beauty contest, nothing more. I know for a fact college recruiters (who have been around far longer than Max Preps) don’t give a whit what Johnny’s batting average on Max Preps is. Recruiters & scouts still do their work the old fashioned way, talking with high school and summer coaches, and seeing the prospects for themselves in person.
May 27th, 2011 at 9:38 am
Alameda lost to Arroyo in 2008, however, I do not recall Jordan Pries starting that game. He possibly entered later when Alameda was behind but don’t recall him starting. All depends on pitching, like the Ross vs. Cal match-up. Possibly different outcome if Pries had started. Thus earlier writer should not lead readers to believe Pries led Alameda in that game.
The Alameda – Arroyo game will be great. In the first match-up, Arroyo tried to get the force at third on a sacrifice bunt but threw the ball away as the fast runner beat the throw. Believe there were no outs at the time in the bottom of the 7th….thus knowing Alameda, they would have gotten the runner in from 3rd on one out if pitcher had gone to 1st for the out on the sac bunt.
May 27th, 2011 at 11:54 am
In my opinion, the only stats a college coach or pro scout cares about is a home to first time, the velocity of the fastball and a bunch of visual inspections. Possibly a reference from a very trusted source also? No school or organization is gonna invest their own money based on stats that someone’s Mommy is keeping at the high school level. Strikouts, walks, HRs are just about the only real stats at that level I think.
May 27th, 2011 at 1:16 pm
Tri I agree I. Why have the rule to upload stats if coaches pad and mommies want their son to be the hit king.
May 27th, 2011 at 2:23 pm
It would be one thing if all teams called every error a hit, but the problem is that some scorekeepers actually know what they are doing and those teams’ batting stats may not be as stellar as another team who gives everyone a hit whenever they reach base. You really have to take MaxPreps stats with a huge grain of salt. Still, it someone is batting .630 and someone else is batting .143, you might be able to infer they are making more solid contact, with or without mommy’s pencil aiding the cause.
May 27th, 2011 at 3:57 pm
Calling All Reporters who check this Blog especially Tony, Did you catch my earlier post about starting up the Live Updates Blog during this second round? If you guys are too busy I understand. It’s a holiday weekend shouldn’t work too hard. To all who view and enjoy prep baseball have a good weekend. I plan on enjoying a showdown at good old Lincoln Park. Go Dons! Win or Lose it’s been one Heckuva season. You had to be there to know what I’m talking about. Regardless of the outcome I had fun. Thanks Coach Anderson, Staff and the 2011 Dons.
May 27th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
Groundskeeper, I’ll be tweeting updates from my games this weekend. Just keep an eye on the Eastbaypreps twitter account.
May 27th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
Thanks Ben.
May 27th, 2011 at 4:06 pm
Ben, what games will you be attending?
May 27th, 2011 at 4:08 pm
Today I’m keeping with my Division I EBAL trend and heading over to DLS for the Spartans and Granada. Tomorrow, I think I’ll do some Div. II action with Campo and Casa Grande. That might change though.
May 27th, 2011 at 8:08 pm
Heritage beat #1 SRV 4-2 and DLS beat Granada 7-3 to advance to play each other in round 3 Tuesday at Heritage. It looks like the D1 & D2 finals will be at Evans Diamond at UC Berkeley this year.
http://cifncs.org/sports/baseball/files/RESULTS/2011/BBD1BRACKET11.pdf
May 27th, 2011 at 8:11 pm
I’m stoked that they got Evans this year. The last time they played the finals there, I was out of town.
Good game at DLS today. I gotta hand it to Granada, the Mats clawed their way back and really never gave in. I was so impressed with that team this year. They left it all out there.
At the same time, gotta credit DLS SP Logan West, who got out of a bases loaded, nobody out jam in the top of the sixth. Next, the Spartans get Paul Blackburn and Heritage. Gonna be a good one in East Contra Costa County.
May 27th, 2011 at 8:19 pm
Ben, you had Heritage listed as a potential sleeper pick, and sure enough they pulled off the upset today. SRV was well rested with all their pitchers after having a bye in round 1, but Jorgenson was on his stuff and limited SRV to a Dutto 2 run HR which tied the score and not much else. Heritage got runs in the 6th & 7th and Blackburn came on to close it out.
May 27th, 2011 at 8:23 pm
Heritage flew under the radar this year because the BVAL was so lopsided with just them and Deer Valley in the title hunt this year. Jorgensen was someone they counted on last year in relief and he’s a very solid No. 2. There’s a lot to like with the Pats, and now they get to go back home next week to face DLS. Gotta like their chances, especially with Blackburn lined up and ready to go.
May 27th, 2011 at 8:30 pm
DLS clobbered Heritage 17-3 when they faced off in the preseason this year at DLS. Both Blackburn and Jorgensen were knocked around. Heritage now gets a chance at home for redemption.
May 28th, 2011 at 9:15 am
Heritage HS has the makings of the next great East Bay sports program. The coaching keeps improving, great athletes, they are starting to win more consistently which builds confidence/tradition. This goes for the girls programs as well. A school on the rise for sure.
May 28th, 2011 at 8:28 pm
NCS 2nd round game between Arroyo and Alameda rained out after playing 1 1/3 innings at Lincoln Park, Alameda. Game rescheduled for Monday at 12 noon (Lincoln Park).
But the COMPLETE story later…..STAY TUNED!
May 29th, 2011 at 1:19 pm
Arroyo winning 1-0 top of 2nd, 1 out basesloaded number 1 and 2 coming up to bat and game gets called. last time we played it was pouring, and the field was a mess. HOW CONVIENT is that, good luck DONS.
May 29th, 2011 at 2:10 pm
It’s an umpires decision? You think Arnerich peed on the mound so it would look wetter?
It’s just like when we played football in the street as kids….if it hits the telephone wires, its a “do over” …Hahaha
Get over it…..you think the game was gonna end 3-0?
May 29th, 2011 at 3:23 pm
I thought it best to gather my thoughts b 4 writing so here goes…To all of the fans of BOD, Irvington, Alameda and Arroyo, you can thank the NCS for causing havoc with your Memorial Day weekend. In their infinite wisdom, the NCS decided to start all of their Saturday 2nd round games at 5pm. So..what happens??
BOD and Irvington play extra innings (9), tied at 5, resulting in completing the game tomorrow with 3rd round game to be played either Tuesday/Wednesday…as per the NCS seedings. GOOD GOING NCS!
As for Alameda/Arroyo, the plot thickens.. With Arroyo bating top 2nd, 1 out and bases loaded and top of the batting order coming up, Umps call for rain delay. No prob there…The drizzle was a bit more dense and with safety a factor, the decision was made to ‘wait out’ the light rain. And, let it be said, the Alameda coaching staff used a bit of gamesmanship to get the umps to that point.
But here is the interesting point. With the skies clearing, and the drizzle having stopped the game was called on account of rain. Now I walked to the baselines on both the Alameda and Arroyo sides. No puddles or standing water anywhere and work on the mound had already been done. Litterally within 3 minutes of the game being called, the sun came out and the rain was gone.
Now, the bottom line is this: Acording to Mike McGreehan, who was the Bay Area News Group correspondent covering the game, he says ” game…will resume…with the Dons leading 1-0…one out…bases loaded’. However, my understanding from speaking to a coaching staff colleague was that the game was ‘washed out’…meaning the Monday game would start fresh in the top of the 1st as if the Saturday game never happened. Personally I have to be of the opinion that the Alameda staff thought the exact same thing.
So, we will find out later if Alameda ‘dodges a bullet’ and starts the game fresh or resumes faced with a bases-loaded jam Top2 with one out.
and to think, ALL of this would have been avoided if the NCS had started the games at 1p…just like they have done in years past.
By the way, a tip of the cap to former Golden State Warrior and KNBR sports commentator Tom Tolbert. Tommy T. made the announcement of the game cancellation to the crowd of approximately 300. Way to Go Tom! Thanks for supporting prep sports!
May 29th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Looks like we have an answer….
Per the NCS website, reference to the Alameda / Arroyo game says ‘SUSPENDED GAME RESUMES’.
It will be Top 2nd, Arroyo batting, one out, bases loaded with the top of the order coming up…
Personally, I’ll believe it…when I see it!
Enjoy the game…
May 29th, 2011 at 4:43 pm
Well said Erndog…….I can say I agree with your post almost fully…..especially with the stupidity behind the 5pm start. Whether it resumes or starts over is a decision that is in the rules…..I’m not sure of the rule myself.
May 29th, 2011 at 5:03 pm
Thanks Erndog, You should be on the BANG payroll. At least as a Consultant.
May 29th, 2011 at 6:26 pm
Mr. T’s kids go to Alameda. His son was on the JV baseball team
May 29th, 2011 at 9:24 pm
not surprised.
May 30th, 2011 at 12:31 am
Umpires made a bad call by starting the inning after watching the pitchers scrape mud/clay off their shoes in the first inning. So Alameda pitches their half of the inning with wet mud/clay mound and Arroyo gets the dry mound. Funny how mud flew into the eye of the home plate umpire in the inning …took something like that to convince them to suspend / call / or whatever to the game…
For Monday, someone should water down the mound…ha…ha… like a Raiders game! NCS is bush league…..someone mentioned start at beginning of inning 2 with 1 run lead for Arroyo. Sounds fair??? No one is going to be happy regardless.
May 30th, 2011 at 3:50 pm
Congrats to the Alameda Hornets with their 9 – 4 win in the NCS quarter-finals over the Arroyo Dons.
Details to come…
May 30th, 2011 at 4:11 pm
take your ghetto team and classless fans back to Arryo. Ken coach of the year, hands down
May 30th, 2011 at 5:28 pm
Nice to see Alameda silence the obnoxious Arroyo fans. “Overated”? The stupidest cheer in sports.
May 30th, 2011 at 6:27 pm
Matt, your comment doesn’t even deserve consideration. Who are YOU to make such a comment?
There are so many Hornet fans who have such passion for the quality and love of the game, and here you are with your ‘ghetto’ reference.
Your words are disloyal and a disservice to those of us who believe in equality and the common nature of humanity.
If you happen NOT to understand what I am trying to say, then I guess, that, in and of itself, will PROVE my point!
May 30th, 2011 at 6:52 pm
Voice, I have no idea why you refer to ‘obnoxious’ Arroyo fans. As someone who was looking to document such behavior, and spent the entire time in front of the stands, I just didn;t hear anything I would consider obnoxious’.
Now, if it bothered you, that the NCS rules were followed, which resulted in the resumption of the game from the Saturday event, I can understand that. No problem.
But from my view, there was serious respect accorded Alameda, based on their record and performance, by the Arroyo fans.
May 30th, 2011 at 6:58 pm
Thank goodness 99.9% of the other Hornet fans aren’t like you Matt. I’m pretty sure Ken would be embarrased by you as well. Scary to think people like you are walkin around still.
That was a great game between two quality teams with very enthusiastic fans.
The Alameda pitcher pitched a big game and gave his team the performance that they badly needed. The 2 double plays were clutch.
The skin infield was a definite Home Field advantage today. That’s why you earn the #1 seed.
I haven’t seen too much HS baseball this year, but it would be hard to imagine a better 11th grade hitter than Elzig. His first pitch crush of that curveball in the 6th was textbook.
Alameda proved again that they are a solid, fundamentally sound, well prepared team….good luck in third round…..
May 30th, 2011 at 7:08 pm
Hey Erndog
What was the NCS rule that was followed? Is it different from a regular season ruling? More importantly, why were they on the phone before the game getting a ruling? They had 2 days to figure it out. I would think that it would have been figured out yesterday?
Just wondering….
May 30th, 2011 at 7:38 pm
Brief recap of Alameda vs. Arroyo. The game did start with some suspense. The Alameda coaching staff stood by their belief that the game should start as a new game (i.e. Saturday action wouldn’t count). To no avail, Saturday play would count, the game would resume at Arroyo 1,Alameda 0, top of 2nd inning, bases loaded for the Dons.As a result, Alameda says they were playing the game ‘under protest’.
As it turned out, it didn’t matter. With an infield error, a hit by pitch and base hits by Elzig and Ruck, the Hornets were on the board, down by 2 but ready to pounce.
Bottom 4, the Hornets took advantage of another Dons error, 2 walks and a key base hit by Brandon Woo to extend their lead. After 4 the score was Alameda 6, Arroyo 4 and you could almost feel the wind going out of the Arroyo sails.
Dylan Armijo was outstanding for the Hornets. After allowing all 3 Arroyo baserunners to score in top 2 for the Dons, he only allowed 2 hits from the 3rd inning on. He also made a key defensive play by taking a sure base hit up the middle by Derek Leytem away by stabbing a solid line drive.
In the final analysis,the better team won today. Alameda made the plays they needed to make in order to win. The Dons did not.
May 30th, 2011 at 7:45 pm
Triton, my understanding is that CIF rules allow the sections (i.e. NCS) to supercede standard rules regarding game resumption in a playoff environment.
Also, as I blogged earlier, NCS oficial at the Saturday game, advised it would be ‘resumed’.
But I guess we had some added ‘gamemanship’ on the part of Alameda. All understandable, after all…it;’s all about…the game…
May 30th, 2011 at 7:52 pm
Either way was OK, as long as it was the rule….I figured by the pitching matchup Sat/Mon that it was gonna take about 10 runs to win. I thought that 4-0 was manageable, but 6-0 or 7-0 would have been a big mountain to climb….that’s why I think that the double play was huge.
May 30th, 2011 at 7:56 pm
The 2nd inning double play kept the game within reach for the Hornets. The 5th inning double play started to put the proverbial ‘nails in the coffin’.
Just callin it like I see it…
May 30th, 2011 at 7:59 pm
The NCS General Ruling Handbook is readily available on line, and on the Baseball section on page 37, Rule 15.201 clearly states that the NCS chooses NOT to adopt their own “Game Ending” procedures, therefore the NFHS Rule Book applies. That rule book clearly states that a “called” game shall be declared a “no game” and reverts back to the start(Rule 4, Section 3). Saturday’s game was, in fact, a “called game” due to rain. The Commissioner who ruled otherwise may now have some explaining to do to CIF.
May 30th, 2011 at 8:08 pm
Wow ‘ghetto’ that’s a new one. I don’t even want to lower myself to comment on your remark. Arroyo we are very proud of all of you. You played hard and had a great season and in the end you kept your heads up high and left today with dignity. Alameda congrats to you. By the way….Matt it’s A R R O Y O next time you want to bash us at least get the spelling correct.
May 30th, 2011 at 10:25 pm
SLZ is right, and most of us recognize that Matt does not represent Alameda. The Arroya team does have class, especially their Head Coach. I am sorry though that he allows (he probably doesn’t know)his large coach who lives in Alameda to bad-mouth Alameda baseball.
May 31st, 2011 at 12:22 am
Ramundo throwing kids arms out is all that needs to be said about Alameda baseball. I think there needs to be a pitch count rule for these so called coaches,what makes them different from mike vick. And if you are talking about coach yamo you don’t have a leg to stand ron.
May 31st, 2011 at 5:23 am
At the Arroyo/Alameda game Sat the umpires ruled that after the rain delay it would take too long for the field to be readied to play and they would not be able to get a complete game in. So it was suspended. The NCS rule book the Arroyo coach had a rule that covered that situtation. The general High School rule book the Alameda coach had did not. So the Alameda people were on the phone to get a decision from the NCS.
May 31st, 2011 at 6:49 am
Nobody going to point out the EBAL’s struggles in the playoffs. Always quuick to point out when they dominate the playoffs, but never admit the other side…Very underwhelming for having the 1,3,4,5,6 seeds. Two didn’t make it out of the 1st round…and only 1 still left in the semi finals. not much of a baseball fan though just looking at results, anybody have some insight.
playoffs are win or go home and outside of DLS football it is up for grabs every year…lots of good teams outside the EBAL, just not the same kind of consistency outside the EBAL.
May 31st, 2011 at 9:24 am
Dave: “Throwing kids arms out is all that is needed to be said about Alameda baseball”. That’s bull and you have no idea what you are talking about. Once again here is someone that has to say something negative about a successful program that sends kids to college either to play baseball or excell in the classroom. This group of kids won the NCS Combined GPA award over all other NCS schools this season. Currently, there are 7 former Alameda HS baseball players playing college baseball. By the way, none of them left the program with sore arms. If you don’t have something nice to say about someone or a program why don’t you just shut up.
May 31st, 2011 at 10:06 am
#1 SRV losing to #8 Heritage in round 2 was a suprise, given that SRV had a bye in round 1 and had already beaten Heritage earlier in the season. Heritage played well and shut them down. EBAL champ SRV had not been hitting the ball well at the end of the season and lost 3 of their last 4 games to Alameda, Cal & Heritage.
#3 Cal losing to BOD was a case of one dominating pitcher (Joe Ross) just shutting them down with a 1-hitter. That was just a bad draw for a #3 seed to get, but not really that much of an upset. BOD is a much higher seed with Ross on the bump and not even in the playoffs wihout him.
#4 DLS knocked out #5 Granada so 1 of those teams had to lose. Certainly not a surprise as there is no way around it. Both teams won their first round games.
#6 MV losing to Irvington was a big surprise, especially since MV only gave up 1 hit, but allowed too many baserunners due to walks, HBPs and errors and you have to give Irvington credit for being resourceful and getting it done without hits.
For the semifinals, #4 DLS beat #8 Heritage 17-3 during their only other meeting, the 2nd game of the year at DLS. Heritage has gotten better during the season and already redeemed their earlier loss to SRV last week. With Blackburn pitching at home, this one promises to be a much closer contest.
#2 Logan beat #11 Irvington twice in league play this year, but only by 3-2 and 4-1 scores. Logan is still heavily favored but don’t count the Vikings out just yet.
May 31st, 2011 at 10:25 am
Great job Alameda!!
May 31st, 2011 at 12:13 pm
The game I went to yee went all ten and the total pitch count was 136 I had it at least 150. He has not thrown since. John Wilson a kid with big promise, arm shot. Antony Wood arm shot. I am sure there is more but there are two. Coach K cares for kid first win 2nd. Pries’s dad was smart.
May 31st, 2011 at 12:30 pm
Dave: Your count on Yee is incorrect and he has been out with a back injury not related to baseball. John Wilson was never over used, if anything he always wanted to pitch more. Anthony Wood hurt his arm badly in a Babe Ruth All Star game and was never the same. Jordan Pries was a stud in HS, always wanted the ball and not over used. He received a scholarship to Stanford and will probably be drafted this year. Guess his arm wasn’t hurt at Alameda either.
May 31st, 2011 at 12:48 pm
But he can swing…Interesting. After ten innings….More interesting. So Wood was hurt badly before high school and was still ran out there. Sad. And my point exactly. Got slings
May 31st, 2011 at 1:08 pm
Dave…..you went to a high school baseball game and counted pitches??? Wow…..enough said!
May 31st, 2011 at 3:47 pm
No tri just observant.
May 31st, 2011 at 4:47 pm
….”I had it at least 150″
Do you always bring a clicker to HS games when you watch?
…”what makes them different from mike vick”
Come on. Are you serious? Pretty sick comparison, huh?
Apples and oranges….
May 31st, 2011 at 5:07 pm
Any updates on Heritage DLS game? Is there a tracker or any updates someone can give?
May 31st, 2011 at 5:22 pm
Comprimising kids to win is not ok. Yee has not thrown because of his back. That is a lie. So why was there an article in the paper about over use. Why did Pries’s dad have to keep them in check. Why was a kid hurt badly before high school and still ran out to the mound. To win that is why. And that is my point and concearn. Would coach K do this. You say you know him and I do very well. We know he is a fierce competitor but the kid is thought of before winning a high school game.
May 31st, 2011 at 5:29 pm
Dave: Please get you facts straight. No lies here. Yee did not hurt his arm throwing pitches. As I said before he hurt his back not even playing baseball. You don’t what you are talking about so stop making up stuff to slam a program. There was nothing in the paper about over use, just the fact that he pitched 10 innings. You can contort anything I say to try and prove your point so please stop because you are making an ass of yourself. By the way I don’t know coach K at all and I never said anything about him on this blog.
May 31st, 2011 at 6:08 pm
Chris, check out eastbaypreps on Twitter. I gotcha covered.
May 31st, 2011 at 6:15 pm
He’s talking about me. I do know Kris. And I know Ken. I have alot of respect for both of them and their programs….but please tell me what Kris has to do with your rants and raves about pitchers being overused at AHS? Far as I know, Kris has never coached at Alameda, right?
I have no inside knowledge of Yee being hurt or not, and I don’t know about the other kids you refer to. But in reading your posts, it doesn’t seem like you have any first hand knowledge either? You sound like someone who just wants to crap on a program that is doing well. You can root for O’Dowd without hating on Alameda….or do you have some reason to hate Alameda???? Why else would you sit at a Alameda/Berkeley game and count pitches?
May 31st, 2011 at 6:24 pm
There was an article in sf chron. Two years or three years ago about this issue. He threw a kid 160 pitches. A kid hurt badly before high school and still ran out to pitch in high school. Now thats an ass. Is it true Alameda went to japan and lost but reported a win. Is it true Pries’s dad had to keep them in check.
May 31st, 2011 at 7:06 pm
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/03/SPMM10FTVU.DTL
@Dave…Here’s the article you reference. Get your facts straight. You are an embarrassment to the sport of baseball- however it is you are affiliated (disgruntled parent, wanna-be-coach, just-a-crapin’ on your neighbor, or whatever). Read the article for yourself. I don’t know who or where you keep getting your information but who ever is feeding it to you is making you look bad. Learn to reseach dude. Or at least stop listening to whoever it is giving you the garbage information.
“He’s such a talent … one of the best we’ve had here,” Alameda coach Ken Arnerich said. “A kid that good – obviously we’ve had to be very careful with him this year, with his pitch count, to make sure he’s ready to go for Stanford.”
But even with a strict pitch count that compelled Arnerich to pull his ace with a 4-0 lead against Berkeley and the ninth hitter at the plate, one out away from a shutout – after Pries gave up a hit on his 96th pitch of the game – there’s a limit to how much he can be limited.
…
He wanted it back. He took the ball and told me I should’ve never taken him out in the first place,” Arnerich said, admitting he agreed with the assessment. “I figured we could get one out without him. … We lose that game, I don’t think I would have slept for two weeks.”
The final box score produced a baseball rarity, one that Arnerich, a former minor leaguer, said he had never seen. Pries pitched seven innings, allowing three hits, one earned run and striking out six. He picked up the win … and the save.
Read more for yourself.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/02/SPMM10FTVU.DTL#ixzz1Nz8vGMxH
And finally, don’t you think it’s time you pick up your glove and go home? No one wants to be on the same field with you playing this game of mudslinging. You have no credibility. It’s just about time for you to think of another new user name.
May 31st, 2011 at 7:29 pm
Not the article I was refering to. Strict pitch count from Mr. Pries.
May 31st, 2011 at 7:33 pm
Hey King Dave….like I said, You have no first hand knowledge, only what someone is feeding you. A smart person would never rant and call someone an ass unless he was blinded by hate for some reason, right? Seems like you have a “personal interest” in the Alameda results? Gonna cost a lot to transfer to O’Dowd?
As stated above, why don’t you try a 3rd user name?
May 31st, 2011 at 7:42 pm
Did Alameda go to japan and report a win when they lost.
May 31st, 2011 at 7:48 pm
Here comes a lie to cover a lie. Brotherskeeper you can pull it up after you whipe the egg on your face.
May 31st, 2011 at 7:58 pm
Congrats to Alameda for a win over a very tough opponent – Arroyo. For those that don’t follow San Leandro/San Lorenzo/Alameda baseball, some of the kids have probably faced each other in Babe Ruth All Stars while also playing on travel ball teams together. It’s a heartbreaker whenever a season ends – but Arroyo did WashManor proud.
The Alameda team is facing all kinds of adversity this year and I hope they pull off an NCS DII Championship.
1) Off field banter, as seen on this blog site
2) Down 1 to 6 to a gameful Maria Carillo team
3) Down 0 to 4 to a tough Arroyo team
4) Now needing to face nemesis from last year in Campo with Mr Marvel
5) And if they get by Campo, face their nemesis in CV over the last three years (lost the ship to them in 2009, beat them in 2010)
All I can say is if Alameda ever starts with a lead, they better pile it on otherwise you might have a reversal of fortune. The AHS kids are a testament to what baseball is all about… thus ignore us old farts who just muck everything up.
May 31st, 2011 at 8:06 pm
The kids are great. I guess my question to brotherkeeper is not going to come.
May 31st, 2011 at 8:09 pm
Dave = King = Pavo = sad sack.
Please don’t feed troll.
May 31st, 2011 at 8:10 pm
I thought you were talking about AHS arms blowing out? Did any arms blow out in Japan? How did you get on Japan? You can’t find your imaginary article that someone told you about?
We’ve all read your letters, now we have to read the same tired stuff in this blog?
Thank goodness the players don’t read this stuff…I hope?
Turn the page….please…whatever your user name is now
May 31st, 2011 at 8:17 pm
@Dave…. WHAT? Egg on my face? Produce the article you refer to. I’ve checked the archives and there is no other article I can find that discusses pitch count. Your turn. You look.
And a lie to cover a lie? I would suggest you need to seek professional help. Your anger is out of control. Seriously, the rumors of you being a wife-beater are running rabid. True or not true? Just as dangerous as the lies you’ve been spreading about others in the Alameda Baseball Community. They say your wife is really nice but even she can’t keep you under control. You’re ruining your kids relationships and embarrasing the crap out of him.
And Japan? What difference does it make and what’s your point? They are friendship games. Here is what the archives say about that:
East Bay baseball’s other Japan trip
Will McCulloch
San Francisco Chronicle April 1, 2008 04:00 AM Copyright San Francisco Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/31/SP6IVTDU0.DTL#ixzz1NzPvkdkg
The Hornets went 2-1 in three games against the Fukuoka Institute of Technology, and Alameda coach Ken Arnerich said the trip was a huge success.
What’s your gripe? Looks like they reported a loss. Come on… let’s get down to it. What is the real issue here? Your star player sitting on the bench after he didn’t work hard enough and lost his position? Maybe he would do better on another team where the talent isn’t so deep. Go to O’Dowd… there might be some that would help pay the tuition just to get rid of you and your troublemaking.
May 31st, 2011 at 8:20 pm
Aside from being one year older, what has changed on Alameda since getting only one hit off Marvel of Campolindo in the Championship game last year? I see they are averaging 10 or so runs a game this year. Have they faced a quality pitcher the likes of Marvel this year (who is also one year older)?
May 31st, 2011 at 8:21 pm
Wow! I’m done blogging for awhile……
May 31st, 2011 at 8:31 pm
@Triton8… making me laugh! Really? I was just getting started. Dumba$$ that he is. Can’t even do his own research. He’s listening to total bull$hit and then has the nerve to repeat it. Got to be a tee’d off Alameda parent the way he rants on and won’t give up expounding the same BS. How many uptight parents do you have in Alameda anyway… one, two? I think there’s a couple… or is he the only one? That’s got to be it… uptight parent… kid sitting the bench? You think?
May 31st, 2011 at 8:34 pm
BJ – Don’t you know that Alameda is terrible, just ask King Dave
May 31st, 2011 at 8:43 pm
….I’m back…I had to pick myself off the floor!
I think you have hit the nail on the HEAD!
May 31st, 2011 at 9:32 pm
well i see you missed me fellas but im not dave but i also heard that couple of coaches had a few too many in japan also along with lying about how many games they really played probably gone off the sauce to remember how many games they played! asfor wood the year he got hurt he pitched lot of innings for ahs but your right he got hurt in babe ruth because he continued pitching! his bae ruth coach was none other than …… mr.arnerich.
May 31st, 2011 at 9:48 pm
Doesn’t every team in every High School across the land have a “David”? Believe me, there is no shortage of overzealous parents who think their son or daughter should be starting on the varsity (name the sport here) team?, including Moraga.
May 31st, 2011 at 10:18 pm
@King… Well, I was confused. Thought you were one in the same. But that makes sense as I’ve heard there’s really two of you troublemakers… the (alleged)wifebeater who’s the lead $hit-disturber – (Tricky Dick) and the troll follower (aka Mini Dick)who thinks his JV son should be on Varsity. Not sure which of you is which… Doesn’t really matter. You both need help from what I’ve heard…
You think your kid’s are the “stars” of the team. There’s 9 players on a baseball field and it takes all of them doing their job. And in my book, even your kid riding the bench is part of that team’s success. Too bad you don’t see it that way. Obviously, it’s not good enough for you. I say let your kid have some peace. You’re dragging him down man. Try encouraging him to work hard at earning the position back. That’s how you can best help your son. That will be a lot more effective than digging up old $hit on coaches that no one cares about. Move on… get a new gripe. Get a new attitude. Do something good for the world of baseball instead of trying to destroy it.
So what, you want to complain about a trip to Japan in 2006 where the coaches had a night of fun. Really? Come on now. 2006, 2000 whatever. Give it a rest. Nobody cares. It’s over it’s done… MOVE ON! Nobody got arrested. Nobody got hurt. Everyone made it home safe. All the boys would have been in bed right? Or should have been in bed anyway. Coaches out having a night of fun? That’s probably nothing compared to all the crap you and the dip$hit have conjured up the last few months. One night of too much sauce compared to months of your crap? You got enough going on to cause the whole friggin’ town of Alameda to turn to alcohol.
Again, I would encourage you to speak fact instead of bull$hit. Nothing you say rings true. You don’t even know Anthony. You don’t know anything about any of the players you are talking about. Speak fact man. And you left out a lot of other players that are worth talking about. You really don’t know the history of the players at all. Where are you getting this garbage? You and little dick staying up late drinking inventing stories as you go?
You have no crediblity anymore.. everyone in Alameda is finding out how full of it you are. How many enemies do you need man? Think about your son. Do you want him to live this legacy?… I hear he’s a nice kid. Can I talk you out of all this hatred you got going on for his sake?
June 1st, 2011 at 10:45 am
The end? Well, halle-friggin-lu-jah!
Good luck in today’s game Hornets!
You can do it. Make us proud. You’re the best!
June 1st, 2011 at 1:20 pm
Wow, I need a cigarette after all this….
@King/Dave/all the other parents who have issues with their kids high school programs. It’s unfortunate that your son lost his starting spot. It happened to my daughter when she was in high school. The worst thing you can do for your kid is air out your grievances in a public forum. You must believe that all this stuff WILL get back to your son’s coach. This is not about you. Your high school years are done. This is your kids time. Let him succeed or fail on his own terms. Be positive and encouraging when talking with him. Convince him to get out there and do the necessary work to earn playing time. If you continue this, which maybe the damage is already done, your son might end up getting cut next year just so the coach gets rid of you. And if he goes to a different school, this will follow him. No coach wants a big mouthed, bag stabbing parent on his roster. I’ve been around this game for a long time. You are doing serious damage to your son. Please listen to what i’m saying…..
June 1st, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Baseballcoach21, you are 100% right in your comments! These parents are so vindictive and self-righteous that one even called the police dept when the coach wouldn’t let him near the dugout.
In private leagues, there are rules barring parents from harassing coaches. Is there something in NCS rules that prohibit that type of behavior?
June 1st, 2011 at 2:59 pm
I’m not sure, but, this isn’t an “at the field” problem. This is a complain-to-whoever-will-listen-behind-the coach’s-back situation. Actually, this is worse. This blog goes beyond the personal listening ears on the sideline. This forum is NCS wide as well as any other interested party beyond our boundaries. Sounds like a few of you know who King/Dave is, which is unfortunate for the his son.
June 1st, 2011 at 5:08 pm
AHS has a well deserved reputation for throwing arms out. And there are scars to prove it. 1 and 2 in japan, but reported 2 and 1. Fact. Fact. And brothers keeper you are ugly. 141 post is proof. Shove a hot dog in your mouth and stop speaking for alameda. I know many good people there which would say shame on you and not stand by you or your twisted nasty attacks on a family. You are ugly, sick individual.
June 1st, 2011 at 5:36 pm
I am sooooo glad I am a football fan and blogger.
You people are nuts
June 1st, 2011 at 6:00 pm
BleacherCoach,
Ha, ha!
We get that crazy too when the season starts!
June 1st, 2011 at 6:15 pm
Baseballcoach21, thank you so much for your comments. Without question, absolutely ‘on-point’ and spoken from a credible viewpoint.
In my following prep sports, I have always found that if the player ‘really wants it’…and from their own heart and soul, and not from outside pressure, be it family or otherwise, their own motivation will lead them to work hard and develop their talents and character.
June 1st, 2011 at 6:40 pm
“Fact, fact”…..were you there? I guess u got that from someone too?
I guess you’ve “showed us the proof, and we’ve chose to do nothing”, right?
June 2nd, 2011 at 7:17 am
@Dave. Maybe you’re not Tricky Dick. Maybe you’re just one of his puppets. Hard to tell but you keep harping on the same garbage he does. If you’re not the one whose been sending all the anonymous hate mail in what looks like an effort to rid alameda of everyone in a leadership position in baseball then it sure looks like you’re hanging out with them. So, are you the leader or the follower? Tricky Dick is a master at getting people to do his dirty work.
Answer me this. What is your point about Japan? Coaches saucing it up. Game records. Pitch count? Blowing out arms? We’ve already talked about this stuff…over and over and you’re like a dog on a bone What is the reason you keep bringing it up? It’s old news man. Are you or are you not part of the entourage on a smear campaign against Alameda baseball?
Are you just doing the dirty work for someone else who wants Arnerich’s job?
If you have a legitimate gripe handle it appropriately. This isn’t the forum.
June 2nd, 2011 at 7:27 am
BTW I don’t mind being ugly. Actually I’m enjoying the benefit of the anonymity… Just like all you Dicks have had in your letter writing smear campaign the last several months. Didn’t know how fun it would be to call you on your $hit.
June 2nd, 2011 at 7:36 am
I know I don’t speak for Alameda. I’m speaking for myself.
@ aka Tricky Dick, mini me dick, dick weed and the rest of you $hit disturbers…I say go somewhere else. Love it or leave it. And don’t let the bridge hit you in the a$$ on the way out!
June 2nd, 2011 at 8:32 am
Don’t worry BleacherCoach, your time will come the first time you tell us Novato’s gonna go to Carson this year! Hahaha
June 2nd, 2011 at 8:41 am
Brotherskeeper…..safe to say, you’re speaking for a lot more people than just yourself…
June 2nd, 2011 at 9:08 am
sooooooo…..to get back to baseball…predictions on the Alameda-Campolindo semifinal game tonight…has the hype of a great game and the finals vs. CV as well.
June 2nd, 2011 at 9:47 am
Is the Alameda game on today? Field good?
June 2nd, 2011 at 10:56 am
whats going on at alameda true or not somethings going down. were theres smoke theres fire!
June 2nd, 2011 at 11:06 am
Lincoln Park is in good shape and the game between Alameda and Campolindo is on for today at 5 pm. In regards to all this crap about the Alameda program……it’s just a father that is pissed his son isn’t playing. Same thing that happens in a lot of high schools. From what I have read Alameda has been in the finals of the NCS tournament 4 of the last 5 years. The coaches must know what they are doing.
June 2nd, 2011 at 11:37 am
Campo is a very young team, not one defensive starter is a senior. Very similar to what Alameda was last year. Campo graduated 5 stud seniors after their D2 Championship last year. Their offense isn’t up to what it was last year but their pitching is better.
Marvel shut last year’s Alameda team down, on one hit, as a sophomore and he returns this year an even better pitcher. If their defense remains tight they should give the #1 team in Northern California a run for their money. Win or lose, 2012 may be “an Alameda like year” for Campolindo.
June 2nd, 2011 at 8:12 pm
Campo beat Alameda 2-1 in 9 innings
June 2nd, 2011 at 8:44 pm
Great game by both teams today at Lincoln Park. Both pitchers pitche incredible. In addition to the great pitching it got from their pitcher the game MVP should go to the Campo catcher. His play on a throw from 3rd base to dig and get the force, saved the game in regulation. And then he ended it with his hit after a long at bat.
Cobb pitched incredible in giving up only 1 run in 6+. He got better as the game went on. Elzig pitched well also. Wow…both teams are really well coached and well prepared.
Failure to score with no outs and the bases loaded really hurt the Hornets….but there was no easy at bats against that pitcher.
Great job from both teams!!!
June 2nd, 2011 at 8:45 pm
The Alameda-Campolindo game was well played, well pitched, good defense. Hats off to both teams. Marvel pitched really well and his only weakness was one inning where he walked 3. Campo and Alameda made a number of clutch defensive plays that supported the good pitching.
June 2nd, 2011 at 8:54 pm
THE END.
June 2nd, 2011 at 10:18 pm
Great Baseball game in Alameda this afternoon. Quite a pitchers duel between Marvel & Cobb, two pitchers with completely different styles, on top of their game. And one spectacular defensive play after another for both teams. In the end Campo came up with the clutch hit in extra innings to defeat an Alameda team who battled to the very end. Congratulations to Alameda for a great season and good luck to Campo against Clayton Valley.
June 3rd, 2011 at 8:16 am
Great Alameda – Campo game. Alameda had its chances. Too bad that Roque kid didn’t get more than one at bat. He and Elzig were the only ones to power it to the deep outfield.
Could, woulda, shoulda… Roque as DH for the game? Would be in the championship possibly….
June 3rd, 2011 at 9:27 am
did alameda really bunt with 1 out in the 8th? why not give yourself 2 chances at tying.
June 3rd, 2011 at 9:57 am
Not really sure about the bunt…..but it looked like the coaches were suprised by the bunt based on the 3rd base coach’s reaction with his hands raised? Looked more like a drag than a sac.
If he didn’t dead’in it so much, they may have had 1st & 2nd with one out. Execution is the most important piece to any plan….AHS really executed well in the games I watched…but you can’t be perfect when your 16-18?
June 3rd, 2011 at 10:12 am
Not many of us that are over 16-18 are perfect either.
June 3rd, 2011 at 11:51 am
Good point!
June 4th, 2011 at 11:36 am
Even tough I was hoping for “THE END” to some of these blogs, I can’t help but comment on the very deep hatred that two of the bloggers seem to have for Alameda in general. The rest of you guys are pretty level headed and want to talk about baseball. Triton8 and Brotherskeeper, I want to meet you one day, you’re all right! Dave and King clearly have axes to grind with a lot of people there in Alameda and only want to talk crap about people and not baseball. I guess maybe that’s because they don’t know much about baseball? Second-guessing seems to be their primary purpose in life, so they must have bench players on the team.
June 7th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
Dual 1-hitters to finish off the season in the D1 finale. Sounds like it was a great game. That makes 5 1-hitters out of the 15 D1 games played this postseason – incredible! Ross 1-hit Cal and Van Schaak allowed only 1 baserunner vs. CP. The other one actually was a loss for MV as Gallagher and co. lost to Irvington despite limiting them to just 1 hit over 9 innings.
Great pitching this year in the East Bay, as evidenced by both Ross and Stephenson being selected in the 1st round of yesterday’s MLB draft. Nice turnaround by DLS, going from 3-9 and tied for 7th place in the EBAL to 9-5 and tied for 2nd and making it back to the finals of NCS where they faced a tough task in James Logan and Martinez. Great improvement at Granada as well. Cal tied for 2nd with DLS but won the head to head in both games for a 2nd place finish. With their JV team tying for 1st place and frosh taking the EBAL title this season, the Grizzlies look to be in good shape for the future. SRV has a lot of position players cominig back, but loses both their lefty aces to graduation in their attempt to repeat in 2012.
June 7th, 2011 at 2:39 pm
All-EBAL was posted in today’s paper. Congrats to all the recipients.
All-EBAL
Player of the Year: Max Dutto (San Ramon Valley) Jr.
Pitcher of the Year: John Hochstatter (SRV) Sr.
First Team
P — Evan Brisentine (California) Sr.; C — Steven Moen (Cal) Sr.; 1B — Ryan Kirby (Granada) So.; INF — Mitch Kranson (De La Salle) Jr., Justin Fogle (G) Sr., Ryan Lacy (Monte Vista) Sr.; OF — Hunter Mercado-Hood (DLS) So., Ryan Drobny (SRV) Sr., Vince Fernandez (G) So.; DH — Brandan Viceral (Foothill) Jr.; UTL — Rett Cortez (G) Sr.
Second Team
P — Logan West (De La Salle) Sr., Nick Piscotty (Amador Valley) Sr.; C — Marcus Mastrobuoni (Cal) Sr.; 1B — Tony Dimartino (MV) Jr.; INF — Tanner Robinson (DLS) Sr., Joe Moroney (Amador Valley) Sr., C.J. Robertson (MV) Jr.; OF — Jason Tyan (MV) Jr., Aaron Hafford (AV) Sr., John Sarmenta (Cal) Sr.; DH — Nick Tyrrel (Cal) Jr.; UTL — Jake Jefferies (F) Jr.
Honorable Mention
P — Peter Nyznyk (DLS) Sr., Logan Truex (Cal) Sr., Dylan Hect (F) Jr., Joe Manzie (F) Sr., Kyle Slinger (SRV) Sr., Kyle Van Schaack (G) Sr.; C — Brett Barier (SRV) Jr., Brad Mulvihill (MV) Sr.; 1B — Travis Hull (SRV) Jr., Greg Dillon (AV) Sr.; INF — Anthony Villa (SRV) Jr., Thomas Peter (Cal) Jr.; OF — Blake Guardio (Cal) So., E.J. Handin (Livermore) Sr., Jordan Whitmore (SRV) Jr.; DH — Daniel Slominski (Liv) Fr.; UTL — Jeff Stanford (Cal) Sr.
June 10th, 2011 at 11:13 pm
Ronmundo it is people like you that give us 4th generation a bad name. You and kenskeeper are w t.
June 12th, 2011 at 2:42 pm
Fourth generation? 4G what?
June 13th, 2011 at 9:49 am
w t = white trash?