On
the Trail With Ted
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Some observations, notes, etc., on games I saw during the 2000 season . . .
JUNE 21
Carpenter Cup
First Round
Burlington County 9, Catholic League 0
Chester County 4, Bicentennial/Inter-Ac 3
Lehigh Valley 17, Public League 2
Black Wednesday. The city teams got swept for the second
year in a row. I left the Vet a broken man. Burlington County had excellent pitching, but
the Catholic League nevertheless looked lifeless. This league should go back to tryouts
and not worry about parents whose All-Catholic sons might get cut. Tough luck! Too many
kids miss workouts and/or drop out at the last minute. With tryouts, the coaches would
know from the very beginning who wants to be there and who doesn't . . . The Inter-Ac
players on the B/I-A team were, like always, the leaders. The highlight from my standpoint
was a catch -- on the dead run, 400 feet from the plate, over the shoulder -- by Haverford
School sr. CF Andrew Hoffman that Willie Mays would have been proud to call his own . . .
What can be said about The Pub? I set the pregame line at three touchdowns and I might
have been right if a thunderstorm had not intervened after seven innings. Lincoln jr. RHP
Ron Clarkson, a sidearmer, did have a few impressive moments, and Washington sr. SS Harry
Ley showed a great arm and footwork. One college scout said of Ley, a Drexel signee,
"He's the best shortstop in this tournament." I also liked jr. RF Andre Andrews;
I regret not having seen him during the regular season. This kid's a blur. Also, he showed
a strong arm in drills and seemed to have excellent instincts. The monsoon hit just as jr.
RHP Terrance "T.J." Brunson (Dobbins) was about to start pitching. Oh, well.
I'll see him next spring.
JUNE 7
Judge 6, La Salle 4
Catholic League Final
Sr. RHP Eric Ruhland started off in very shaky fashion,
allowing two hits, two walks and three runs in the first inning. Thereafter, he was nails
tough until the seventh, when La Salle pushed one run across and got the tying runs on
base. Judge was guilty of just one error -- Ruhland's miscover on a 3-1 play. Eight of the
nine Crusaders got hits and the No. 8 and 9 hitters, jr. 2B John Horcher and jr. C Mark
Dickson, had two apiece. Judge's seniors graduated beforehand and there were some anxious
moments as sr. CF Kirk Bucholski arrived much later than everybody else. He'd left his
uniform at home. As always, Judge coach Joe McDermott (25 years) indicated this season
would be his last. I'm closer than ever to believing him. A large, vocal crowd was on
hand.
JUNE 5
Frankford 5, GAMP 3
Public League Final
As almost always, the PL final was sometimes wild and
almost always interesting along with having its loose moments. Sr. LHP Ed Durfor allowed
seven hits, walked three and drilled two, but forced GAMP to strand five in scoring
position. Jr. 2B Russ Pizzo made a huge play on a liner, turning it into a doubleplay,
Durfor did likewise on a popped-up bunt and sr. CF Brian Coulter made a diving catch in
right-center. GAMP hung in there nicely. Its lineup included three juniors, three sophs
and a freshman. I spent the third inning doing color commentary on CN8. When the stint was
over, I noticed something and said to myself, "Nice going, goofball." I'd
neglected to take off my hat. A great impression that's going to make. One example of how
Frankford coach Bob Peffle is loved by his players: They kept asking him to pose for
pictures for parents, loved ones, girlfriends, etc.
JUNE 3
La Salle 6, Carroll 3
Catholic League Semifinal
Soph RHP John Reifsnyder came up large in just his third
varsity start. He went five innings and the runs against him were unearned. He looked
poised throughout and still had good velocity at the end of his stint. Sr. RHP Mike
Lombardo had no anxious moments while finishing. La Salle has good arms in RF (sr. Matt
Michel) and CF (jr. Ryan Parfitt); the instant coach Joe Parisi put sr. Joe Vassallo into
LF as a defensive replacement in the third inning, Vassallo made a sliding catch of a
popup. Parfitt crushed a HR to right-center off Carroll's sr. RHP Gerard Oakes in the
sixth. Oakes hit as high as 94 mph on the guns, but was mostly in the 86 to 88 range. He
struggled with command. Sr. LF Marty Higgins twice hit deep drives to center.
Judge 4, Kennedy-Kenrick 2
Catholic League Semifinal
Sr. RHP Eric Ruhland showed grit and a good fastball,
even though he had an annoying tendency to run deep counts. He helped himself with an RBI
double -- a true blast -- to dead center. Jr. C Mark Dickson had a strong game. He gunned
down a runner at third on a delayed steal; got a forceout at the plate on a bunt; made a
tag at the plate after an aborted sacrifice and took part in an involved, successful
rundown. Strange occurrence: Judge's infielders had NO assists on groundballs. A few words
about the disturbing show put on by K-K jr. SS Jason Connor: he struck out in his final
three at-bats. First he fired into his bat high off the screen near K-K's dugout. The next
two times, he drop-kicked his helmet over the dugout. A college coach watched the display
and said, "There's a kid I was thinking about recruiting next year. I won't have to
bother now." I was also disappointed with the umpires. As far as I could tell, Connor
received no warnings after his first two outbursts. His third came on the final out of the
game.
JUNE 1
Frankford 9, Central 7
Public League Semifinal
Sr. LHP Ed Durfor struggled mightily, but toughed out the
win. Anyway, he's not really a pitcher. He'll be an outfielder at Temple. Sr. CF Brian
Coulter sparkled, making a sensational diving catch and running quite far to catch two
other flies. He also had the assist on the game-ending doubleplay and had a nice sacrifice
bunt to move two runners into scoring position. After striking out in his first two
at-bats, jr. SS Tom DiBello rebounded to triple and single. For Central, sr. RHP Brian
Schuster again showed brass ones. He has bone chips in his elbow and has gotten permission
to keep pitching and play SS! There's a malpractice suit in here somewhere. Once,
Schuster's arm was hanging by his knee as he came off the field. Schuster added a triple
and double.
GAMP 10, Bartram 9 (8 innings)
Public League Semifinal
Roller-coaster ride, anyone? I needed a Tums after this
tilt. Back and forth, up and down, around and around. It was fun and ugly at the same
time. Jr. LHP Mike Sacco won in relief, pitching 3 1/3 innings of shutout ball. He also
got the game-winning hit. Sr. SS Danny Ferrazzano showed decent skills and leadership,
though I doubt he'll still be a SS in college. He's a switch-hitter, so that adds to his
value. GAMP starts three juniors, three sophs and a freshman. For Bartram, sr. RHP Steve
Guida crumpled with shoulder pain after 5 1/3 innings, then went to LF. Sr. CF Bryan Hines
was on base all five times in the leadoff spot and stole four bases. Sr. SS Kelvin
Rawlinson made a couple of decent plays. He's stirring some college interest. After GAMP
won, coach Art Kratchman was doused with water. Some of it got on me and my clipboard.
Luckily, a yellow pad was covering my game sheets. If not, someone would have perished.
MAY 31
La Salle 7, Conwell-Egan 1
Catholic North Second Round
Sr. RHP Bryan Harvey owned this game. He had
above-average velocity (for high school ball) throughout his six-inning stint and was
always in control. He is receiving Division I interest. After C-E scored an unearned run
in the third on a single by Vaughn Burns, nephew of Egan all-timer Ricky Burns, Harvey
faced the minimum 13 batters. Jr. 3B Mike Manzi, who doesn't play when Harvey isn't
pitching, hit a rocket of a three-run homer to dead left. It just cleared the fence to the
right of the Hank DeVincent disk. An inning later, Matt Michel hit a two-run homer a shade
to the right of where Manzi's dinger left the yard. The ball landed in a hedge across the
driveway. There were no A-plus defensive plays. La Salle started three juniors (2B Kyle
Elliott, CF Ryan Parfitt and Manzi) and three sophs (LF Rob Sullivan, C Chris Jeffers and
SS John Reifsnyder). C-E atempted no steals, but Jeffers showed a very good arm in
warmups. Michel and Parfitt also showed excellent arm strength in pregame drills. Before
the game, several guys asked C-E coach Rich Papirio whether he had a roster. He said he'd
had a bunch with him Tuesday, but had thrown them away after the game. "Right in that
trash can," he said, pointing. They were still in there. Several guys wound up with
them.
MAY 30
Roman 8, SJ Prep 0
Catholic South First Round
This game sailed by, ending in 1:29. Roman jr. RHP Phil
Terry showed good command and was constantly ahead of the hitters. His fielders made four
impressive plays (to overcome three errors). The best was a 360-degree turn by sr. SS Ray
Tierney, who had to leave the base to catch a wide throw on a forceout, but still got an
out at first after his gymnast's imitation. Prep sr. RHP Andrew Gambone faced the minimum
number of batters through four innings, but then Roman got to him. Also, the Prep made
some shaky decisions in the field (allowing extra bases, not cutting balls off, etc.) The
game started at 3:16 instead of 3:30 because both teams finished infield-outfield early
and didn't feel like waiting around.
MAY 27
Conwell-Egan 3, North 0
Catholic North Preplayoff
This game was snappy, mostly well played and enjoyable to
watch. Faced with no other option, coach Rich Papirio started sr. RHP Mike Pinto, who was
0-3 in relief. Pinto responded with a five-hit shutout. Pinto and sr. 3B Kyle Lorenz made
spectacular fielding plays and Pinto picked off two runners. Pinto had nothing more than
OK stuff, but he was always around the plate and he pitched with energy, giving the
impression HE was in charge. For North, sr. RHP Ed Slavin (a big kid) was mostly up with
his fastball and the Eagles had success taking him the other way. Jr. LF Mike Gallagher
made a nice diving catch. I won't mention his name, but one of the Falcons bitched at the
umps and complained about everything imaginable throughout the game. His act could not
have aided the cause.
MAY 25
Bartram 5, Saul 4
Public League Quarterfinal
Jr. RHP Anthony Boyer must be sneaky fast. He did not
appear to be throwing very hard, but the Razorbacks' swings were often late. Boyer has a
fluid body and an easy delivery. He could add velocity by next year and become at least a
college prospect. Sr. SS Kelvin Rawlinson ran the game for the Braves and twice made huge
defensive plays only because he was paying attention and had good instincts. Sr. CF Bryan
Hines also looked like a player. For Saul, sr. RHP Mike Jones was starting on one day's
rest. He had a herky-jerky delivery and was in a serious hurry; often he had the ball back
on its way to the catcher two seconds after catching it. Sr. SS Steve McDowell was
Rawlinson-like -- animated, heady, competent, etc. Bartram's field is a mess. There is
grass all over the dirt portion of the infield. If they're not going to keep the field in
proper shape, let the grass grow all the way and have cutouts around the bases. I shared
space behind the screen for part of the game with a guy drinking a can of Colt 45. He
didn't offer a swig. I didn't ask for one.
MAY 23
Penn Charter 3, Haverford School 1
Hard-luck sr. RHP Matt Carroll, headed for Maryland on a
partial scholarship, was in command pretty much throughout while dropping the Fords into a
title tie. His fastball had good hop. PC turned two doubleplays and freshman 1B Taylor
Baum made an excellent play on a sixth-inning grounder by losing pitcher Steve Compton (RH
bound for Columbia) that would have gone down the line and perhaps scored two runs. Both
catchers, PC soph Aaron Greenfield and HS jr. Chris Burling, showed strong arms. PC sr. SS
Kyle Cousin (Yale) and Greenfield smashed triples deep to center. Both times, twins Andrew
(CF, Pitt) and Eric Hoffman (SS, Lehigh) showed perfect alignment, timing and accuracy on
relays. Before the game, PC dedicated its new scoreboard in memory of '97 grad Harold
"Hap" Gottehrer. Cousin, Hap's teammate in '97, made a moving speech directed at
Hap's parents and brother. Among the spectators was Phillies president Dave Montgomery, a
PC grad and Carroll's grandfather. When I told Dave I might mention his presence in my
article, he laughed and said, "Don't mess up a nice high school story by mentioning
me and the Phillies."
MAY 18
Mastbaum 14, Kensington 6
Public League First-Round Playoff
Mastbaum received a big lift from soph RHP Mark Hansberry
after sr. RHP Bob Baggett struggled. Hansberry was not overpowering, but showed grit over
the last 4 1/3 innings while limiting Kensington to one run. Star sr. OF Mike Street, who
dislocated his elbow in the first league game, finally returned to action in the field (he
had to play 2B and LF) after spending four games as the DH. He hit two absolute rockets --
one off the distant leftfield fence for a double, the other right into the leftfielder's
glove. Kensington self-destructed, commiting nine errors and five in the very first
inning. Jr. P-SS Carlos Munoz was impressive in the No. 3 hole, going 4-for-4 with a
double and two RBI. Jr. SS-CF Elias Mickles played one day after being released from the
hospital (abcess in his mouth) and stroked two hits. Cool name department: Mastbaum's SS
is sr. Bladimir Bonifacio. Plate ump Sheldon Reid took a wicked foul ball off his left
elbow, but remained on duty.
MAY 15
Carroll 24, McDevitt 3
The attraction was Sr. RHP Gerard Oakes (6-4, 185), who
is receiving major scouting interest. Oakes consistently hit 87-88 mph on the eight
scouts' radar guns and hit a high of 90 while striking out 15. Carroll coach Fran Murphy
said Oakes's season high is 93 and that he's had games with consistent readings of
89-90-91. The Patriots boomed seven homers. Most were ligit despite Carroll's ridiculously
short fences. Soph 3B Mike Costanzo, showing a quick and powerful lefthanded stroke,
slammed two homers and finished with seven RBI. There were no outstanding fielding plays.
Patty Oakes, Gerard's mother, was wearing a sweatshirt that read, "Give blood. Play
hockey." Gerard also starred in that sport, but has signed with Coastal Carolina for
baseball. For McDevitt, Sr. CF Mike Hagarty got good swings against Oakes throughout,
going 3-for-4 with a double (and no whiffs).
MAY 11
Bartram 11, Roxborough 8
Sr. RHP Steve Guida, a large lad, used a shortarming,
sidearming motion while going the distance on only two days' rest. I imagine he can
throw harder. I did like his sinker, which the Indians kept beating into the ground. Sr.
CF Bryan Hines did a nice job in the leadoff hole, going 3-for-4 with a walk and two RBI.
Sr. SS Kelvin Rawlinson is not too big, but he has a decent arm along with quick feet and
hands. I like this kid. He has a strong chance to make the PL's Carpenter Cup team. Soph C
Ian Greaves has potential. Jr. LF Anthony Boyer has hit well all season, but in this one
he went 0-for-5. For Roxborough, the player of the future is soph CF Mike Gibbs. This kid
has the look. He's 6-4, slim-waisted with long legs and size 17 spikes. Vincent Hardaway,
the new coach at Phila. Community, likened Gibbs to a young Dave Winfield. Great
comparison. Gibbs, a righthanded batter, slapped a two-run homer to right-center. Sr. RHP
Steve Furtak struggled all game with location and The Boro's 12 -- yes, 12 -- errors
didn't help. The game was played at Germantown's field. The infield grass was cut just
beforehand and the place had a cow pasture look. Only in The Pub. Roxborough's Tim Tucker
is a strong candidate for scorekeeper of the year. He stays involved the whole game and is
thorough. Seems like a really good kid.
MAY 8
West Phila. 15, Audenried 5
I went to this battle of winless teams figuring to do a
story about one of them finally having a reason to be happy. Instead, as I arrived at the
field, Audenried coach Bill Edger (filling in for Joe Donnelly; death in family)
introduced me to freshman James Williams, a 4-9, 106-pound outfielder who suffered severe
burns and disfigurement in a house fire when he was 9 months old. James became the story
(you can read it at philly.com) and the game became secondary. Nevertheless, West sr. RHP
Tyrik White had a strong performance after moving to the mound from 1B after soph LHP
Brian Greene walked the game's first two batters. White fanned nine and had a pair of
homers for four RBI. Perhaps understandably, the Audenried players felt more and more
frustration as the game went on. Some threw gloves. Some sat down on the field. Others
refused to hustle. Just before White's RBI single ended the game via the 10-run rule,
Edger said, "One more stupid thing, I'm forfeiting this game. Look how some of these
guys are acting. Who needs this?"
MAY 5
Ryan 5, Wood 0
John Price, a sr. RHP, was dominant throughout. No radar
guns were on hand, but Price's best fastballs had to be in the high 80s. Also, he showed a
sharp-biting curve that routinely froze Wood's hitters. Wood stirred in just two innings,
the fourth and sixth with runners at first and second. Price got two K's to close out the
fourth and one to end the sixth. Sr. 2B Mike Canelli smashed a solo homer to left and
teamed with Price for a nifty putout at first. Jr. 3B Mike Caringi twice showed extra
hustle by running and running to catch popups that were far out of play. For Wood, only
sr. 1B Mark Roth, a lefty, had good swings against Price. He ripped two singles. In the
second inning, No. 5 hitter John Harrison and No. 6 Matt Gubicza (nephew of former Kansas
City Royal pitcher Mark Gubicza) batted in reverse order. Both made outs, so no
controversy developed. They batted in the right spots thereafter. The plate ump was Ed
Kerrigan, who's in his 38th season and is the brother of Red Sox pitching coach Joe
Kerrigan. As always, Ed made the game fun and kept it moving. At one point, when Ryan
catcher Jerry Rogers was slow to put down the sign, Kerrigan whispered to him, "1's a
fastball, 2's a curve." Gotta love this nickname: Ryan jr. RF Keith Hamburg is called
"Cheese" by his teammates.
MAY 2
Chestnut Hill 3, Episcopal 1
Andrew Malcolm, a sr. RHP for CH, had a slow-and-slower
fastball. But he kept getting outs, thanks mostly to good placement on his curve and sharp
fielding by his mates. As Malcolm, a/k/a "The Penguin," was being interviewed,
his happy teammates made penguin noises and one said while tapping Andrew's tummy,
"He's a little big around the middle, but we love him." Sr. 3B Tony Breslau had
four consecutive assists at one point (he had to leap to glove a bad-hop grounder) and sr.
SS Eric Vacca was the middle man on a highly uncommon 5-6-3 doubleplay. Gilly Lane, a tiny
fresh. 2B, made an impressive catch of a foul popup, and jr. RF Rich Repetto made a diving
catch of what became a sacrifice fly. Episcopal got off to a bad start -- the ball bag was
left on the bus and jr. CF Mike McGillian got hurt during warmups. Sr. RHP Justin
DiLucchio, a Duke signee with a herky-jerky motion, struggled early with his command. He
walked four combined in the second and third innings. His fastball reached 84 mph, and
averaged 82. He struck out seven and retired the last 10 batters in order with no balls
leaving the infield. Sr. RF Geoffrey Henisee, McGillian's replacement in the lineup,
lashed a single and hit a deep fly to center.
APRIL 14
Kennedy-Kenrick 12, Roman 2
K-K RHP John Zazworskey, a sr., used a sharp breaking
ball to keep Roman's batters off-balance; hardly anyone got good swings. Jason Connor, a
tall jr. SS, looked smooth on grounders and made a nice catch of a popup in left-center.
Sr. RF-1B Ian Leahy crushed a two-run, first-inning homer over the Neumann disk in LF.
Fresh. Chris Lubanski started in LF and led off. He had an RBI single and scored twice.
Jr. C Marc Wagner showed a strong arm during warmups, but never got to show it off during
the game. A girl named Jessica sang the National Anthem after the sound system blared, and
we do mean blared, pregame music. At least I think it was music. Latshaw/McCarthy Field is
a first-class facility. Roman had little to cheer about. No. 8 hitter Anthony Dabrowski, a
jr. RF, had a single, triple and one RBI and backup sr. SS Ray Tierney, a very small kid,
made a strong throw from deep in the hole to get an out at first.
APRIL 13
Frankford 6, Northeast 2
Frankford RHP Tom DiBello, a jr., did an excellent job
locating an average fastball and a just-cute-enough curve. He lived on the knees early in
the count, and then got some outs on fastballs at the top of the strike zone. Sr. C Jim
Connolly received the ball well and undoubtedly caused Northeast's batters some
concentration problems by getting as close to the plate as possible. Sr. 1B Ed Durfor, on
fire this season, twice drew intentional walks after hitting a seed for a double in his
first at-bat. Sr. LF Brian Coulter drew three consecutive walks in the No. 8 hole.
Frankford's field has to be the best in the PL. Nice grass, smooth dirt, level. It has
always been one of my favorite places to see a game. For Northeast, soph DH Dave Firth
pounded a homer onto the sidewalk across Pratt Street, sr. CF Ron Meyer had two hits and
jr. 2B Brian Torphy had to leave in the first innng after colliding with sr. RF Cory Ford
while chasing a popup. Northeast must have more than its share of sore arms. When the
Vikings grouped for their pregame pep talk, one of the players blurted out, "All I
smell is Icy Hot."
APRIL 9
Judge 18, Dougherty 1
Judge LHP Kirk Bucholski, a sr., was not overpowering
(just two strikeouts), but was mostly successful at keeping the ball down and he walked no
one. Also, his teammates were guilty of just one error. Sr. SS Bill Reilly made a nice,
over-the-shoulder catch of a windblown popup in left-center. Sr. 3B Dennis Klinger scalded
the ball three times. Jr. C Mark Dickson hit doubles way out to left-center and center,
respectively. Sr. backup 2B Glenn Allen must be very popular. His teammates and the fans
went wild when he had an RBI single while pinch-hitting. For Dougherty, sr. C Paul
DiSantis did a good job blocking some tough pitches and sr. 1B-P Jim Corbett hit three
bullets while going 2-for-3. When he relieved Mike Staub, Corbett wondered out loud,
"Am I the first 300-pound pitcher in Catholic League history?" Question of the
day -- how does sr. Joe Gwiszcz, a backup 1B, pronounce his name? Guh-veech, according to
scorekeeper Chris O'Donnell, girlfriend of coach Jim McCaffrey.