Friday, May 9, 2008

WPIAL baseball pairings released

Here are pairings for the first round of the WPIAL baseball playoffs, released Friday:

Class AAAA
All games Friday, May 16
No. 1 Seneca Valley, No. 2 Plum, No. 3 Canon-McMillan receive byes
No. 4 Central Catholic vs. No. 13 Bethel Park, at Burkett Complex, 7 p.m.; No. 5 Hempfield vs. No. 12 North Allegheny at Gateway, 7 p.m.; No. 6 Shaler vs. No. 11 Gateway at North Allegheny, 4 p.m.; No. 7 Franklin Regional vs. No. 10 Butler at Herb Field, 3 p.m.; No. 8 Peters Township vs. No. 9 Latrobe at California University, 4 p.m.
Top three qualify for PIAAs

Class AAA
All games Friday, May 16
No. 1 West Allegheny, No. 2 Hampton, No. 3 Moon, No. 4 West Mifflin receive byes
No. 5 Blackhawk vs. No. 12 Derry at Gateway, 2 p.m.; No. 6 Greensburg Salem vs. No. 11 New Castle at Gateway, 4 p.m.; No. 7 Trinity vs. No. 10 Chartiers Valley at Burkett, 4 p.m.; No. 8 Laurel Highlands vs. No. 9 Steel Valley at Mt. Pleasant, 4 p.m.
Top three reach PIAAs

Class AA
Play-in games Tuesday, May 13: Valley vs. Southmoreland at Mt. Pleasant, 4 p.m.; Riverview vs. New Brighton at Seneca Valley, 2 p.m.; South Fayette vs. Riverside at Seneca Valley, 4 p.m.
First round games Thursday, May 15
No. 1 Seton-La Salle vs. Southmoreland-Valley winner at Burkett, 5 p.m.; No. 2 Burrel vs. Riverview-New Brighton winner at Shaler, 4 p.m.; No. 3 Beaver vs. South Fayette-Riverside winner at Chippewa Park, 4 p.m.; No. 4 Neshannock vs. No. 13 Bishop Canevin at Chippewa Park, 2 p.m.; No. 5 Greensburg CC vs. No. 12 Brownsville at Cal U, 4 p.m.; No. 6 Charleroi vs. No. 11 Mohawk at Highlands, 4 p.m.; No. 7 Center vs. No. 10 Washington at Burkett, 3 p.m.; No. 8 Shadyside Academy vs. No. 9 Ford City at Highlands, 6 p.m.
Top four reach PIAAs

Class A
First round games Friday, May 16
No. 1 Springdale, No. 2 Serra, No. 3 Carmichaels, No. 4 Chartiers-Houston receive byes
No. 5 Rochester vs. No. 12 Jefferson-Morgan at Burkett, 11 a.m.; No. 6 Monaca vs. No. 11 Vincentian at Herb Field, 1 p.m.; No. 7 Geibel vs. No. 10 Cornell at Cal U, 2 p.m.; No. 8 Avella vs. No. 9 Union at Burkett, 2 p.m.
Top three reach PIAAs

72 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting that Bethel Park is considered the "last team in" by the selection committee. Other than being swept by C-M (the #3 seed) all they did was beat Peters 2 out of 3 and knock off Central Catholic earlier in the year. I know they don't have the "big" names that some of the programs possess, but they probably deserved a better seed. When Bethel Park, with their resume, is the #13 seed out of 13 I think that speaks to the overall quality of the whole tournament. The AAAA bracket is loaded!

Interesting thought... who does Peters decide to pitch against Latrobe? If they can get by, they get Seneca Valley and most likely Mazzoni. If I'm Joe Maize I've got to go with the man who has done it for them the past two years in Nick "the stud" Merich. Any thoughts by the other blog readers would be greatly appreciated on both of the topics I've brought up. Thank you guys. Looking forward to what "Brian" has to say (my vote for blog reader of the year).

Anonymous said...

I would certainly have to agree that this AAAA bracket is chalk full of talented teams. It should make for an extremely entertaining tournament.

As for Peters, they know what lies ahead if they win their opening game. But thats a big IF. As we all know, the only thing certain in playoff baseball, or just about any baseball game for that matter, is the uncertainty of who will win. Anything can happen in a playoff scenario with two talented teams who are fighting for their lives. Peters cannot take Latrobe lightly and start planning ahead for Seneca Valley, even if they are the defending state champs with arguably the top pitcher in the state. Peters is playing excellent baseball right now, but they have to take it one game at a time. The starter should definitely be either Merich or JJ. JJ is pitching great right now so I might have to go with him with Merich ready to come in at any time. Depending on the date of the second game, should Peters defeat Latrobe, they could easily have both of them ready to go for game 2 anyways.

To the CM fans, who would you like to see start the game against Shaler/Butler? Douglas? Dittmar? Pierpont? All have had their share of success and bad games, as well.

Anonymous said...

I'd like to see Muransky start. I think Canon-Mac is going to start Toward though. He has been great all year. Great curve.

KiPA - Kevin in PA said...

One thing I find interesting about PT's recent playoff runs, which I was going to put in the story but took out for space, was how they finished third in their section twice and ended up reaching the state title game. When they went through the regular season undefeated, they lost in the first round.

I'm not predicting a spot in the PIAA title game for PT, but if I'm any coach in Quad A, I don't want anything to do with the Indians. Their bats are on fire and if you can throw Jankowski out as a No. 2 starter (which they can, Merich is a stud) then you're in good shape.

Anonymous said...

I wrote the second post and just realized that it should be Shaler/Gateway for CM's first game.

Anonymous said...

Who do CM readers believe is their ace? Who do they want on the hill to start the playoffs?

Anonymous said...

I don’t think the talented Big Macs could have asked for a better seed heading into the playoff. By nature they are a very loose team that loves to have fun on the baseball diamond, and have shown that they are as comfortable at either playing ahead or battling back from an early deficit.

As for who starts the opening game play off game for CM, Douglas has been the most consistent pitcher that CM has rolled out but I would lean towards giving Dittmar the chance to go in the first game with a quick hook if things get out of hand to quickly.
Defensively they are a better team with Pierpont at SS than if he were on the mound.

Peters fans, okay, who do you start. JJ or Merich? Do you keep an eye on the potential second round game against a talented Seneca Valley team? All I know is that if I were Seneca Valley I would be pissed at the thought of facing the pre season #1 team in the second round.

BP has a chance to make some early noise if they were to take out CC in the first round.
CC has to be a little perturbed for not receiving an early round bye and BP has the defense, pitching and hitting to catch a sleeping CC. This should be the game of the first round.

Okay, we have beaten up on each other in section play, now lets make sure section 3 maintains our status as the best HS baseball division in the Keystone state.

Anonymous said...

Chris Douglas is who should get the ball in game one. Dittmar is a good pitcher too but winning this first game is extremely important and Douglas is the pitcher that gives them the best shot to do so. As for the Pierpont pitching making the defense worse, i'm gonna have to disagree to an extent. Andre Hayden is a very solid short stop and some believe he is just as good as Pierpont and Spartz isnt bad at all at second base. Matt pitching also keeps Dittmar in left rather than on the hill. Think about it, typically high school pitchers are position players too. So no matter who is on the hill, there is going to be a position to fill in the field.

Anonymous said...

I would agree with Hayden at SS however his double play capability at 2nd is by far the best that I’ve seen in HS baseball. Heading into the play-off , the old adage the pitchers best friend is a double play is something I would like to see remain intact.

Anonymous said...

Hayden has been dealing with a mean bout of senioritis this year it would seem. I've been to 4 or 5 games and I do not think he has even reached base! I think he's a very solid player, but his lack of production speaks volumes as to how good C-M could be if he stars producing in the playoffs. I mean they won the section with him providing almost zero offense. Pierpont is clearly the better option at SS. I know the argument has been raised about his defense by bloggers like Brian, but I've seen Pierpont do a solid job at SS. His arm is much stronger than Hayden's and while Hayden does have more range I've seen him make a couple of errors at SS because he had to rush to compensate for the lack of arm strength. The best middle infield for the macs is pierpont at ss and hayden at 2b. Spartz is a great third baseman. That boy can flat out field at the hot corner, but he has almost no range at second and looked uncomfortable out there. The one thing I cant understand is how this coaching staff cannot have Spartz starting. He is clearly the best third baseman on the roster in terms of defense, yet I have only seen him go over there when douglas was pitching. Wasnt spartz the playoff starter at third last year?? Anyone with information on the spartz situation? Has he gotten into some trouble or is he battling injury?

Anonymous said...

What argument was I raising about Pierpont and his defense? I was just saying that the defense isnt necesarrily better with him not pitching. I was saying that I feel your statement was not true because i think the defense is better when he is pitching rather than when dittmar is pitching because i feel that whoever they use to replace ditty in the field is a larger downgrade compared to hayden replacing pierpont. Personally i think the defense is best when Douglas is pitching, which also could be a reason why he has been the most reliable pitcher.
You are right about the range and arm strength though. As for spartz, i do not know what has kept him out of the lineup. My guess would be his stick and perhaps an error or two that attracted a lot negative attention from the coaches. The Spartz/Douglas situation you speak of is one that i cannot figure out either. I dont think that hitting can be the determining factor here because i dont think that douglas's bat is near consistent enough to be an everyday guy. His strikeouts are almost 1 for every 2 at bats(20/44). At the same time though spartz is hitting .250 but only has 16 atbats...

Anonymous said...

The Spartz/Douglas situation is a shame. I will not go into details out of respect for all of the guys on this team, but I will say that Spartz has unfairly "lost" his position. The kid was amazing when he was moved there towards the end of the season last year, and if my memory serves me right, made multiple diving plays there in the playoffs. He had little to no pressure on him, especially because his predecessors at the hot corner were shaky at best in the field. This year, he was off to a pretty good start, but due to unmentionable reasons, lost his job. Now, when he even gets the chance to play, he plays with a ton of added pressure because he's trying to win his spot back even though he probably wouldn't even if he played like Brooks Robinson. It's an extremely unfortunate and unfair situation. To top it off, he only has 16 at-bats because he hasn't had the chance to hit since very early in the season. They gave up on his bat long ago. But Douglas can strike out 50% of the time and that's fine with the coaches.

I don't get it.

Anonymous said...

Wow, for someone to have seen only four or five games for you to know that Hayden has had stretches of hitless game and committed two errors at shortstop would be a miracle onto itself. Since you personally have seen Hayden make two errors at short, one of the games would have been against Mt Lebo in which I believe he went 2/4, and drove in the tying runs, and I believe he also scored twice, I think he also scored the winning run but I am not sure. To state that his lack of production has been caused by “senioritis” would be a little reckless. His batting average has been suspect, as evident by his drop in the line up but he is still among the team leaders in RBI and run scores. His defensive production has been pretty good, as he has committed 3 errors all year, two at SS as you pointed out having been to only seen 4 or 5 games. I have to admit I a little confused about but the personal attack on Hayden, when I think the question put out on the blog was who should have the mound for CM heading into the play offs and how does that effect the other positions on the field. CM is a better defensive club when Pierpont is at SS and Hayden is at 2nd but don’t kill the kid, or at the very least make sure you have your facts straight. I would love to have “senioritis” if it meant that I was among the team leaders in RBI’s, runs scored, and had a 960% fielding percentage and by the way section champs. And the question still remains who starts for the Big Macs heading into the play offs, my choice is Dittmar although as the “master” pointed out, CM is stronger defensively when Douglas is on the hill.

Anonymous said...

Anyone know if Dittmar is 100% healthy at the moment? He was limping bad at times during the last few games.

Could this and his recent struggles factor into who takes the hill in their first game?

Anonymous said...

As far as I can tell, Spartz didn't loose his position, it was taken from him.

Anonymous said...

Thats exactly why I put lost in quotes (because I don't think he lost it). Myself and many others agree that it was taken away from him.

Anonymous said...

Spartz is the kind of player who gives everything when he is on the field. To have him sit is such a waste. Do these coaches not pay attention?

Anonymous said...

Bring back Scott Henson!!! He was a great game manager, motivator, always played the MOST deserving players, and knew more about baseball than any wpial coach ever! He also knew what the heck he was doing with a pitching staff and an offense. The current staff is the worst I have ever seen in the history of canon-mac baseball. If henson was coaching the last two years they would not have lost a single game and would be on there way to back-to-back wpial titles. He always made the right moves and i think if you ask any of the players on the current team that played for him, they will tell you how much they loved and respected him as a coach, mentor, and friend. I vote to get rid of the current crop of idiots and bring back scotty henson.

Anonymous said...

While I'm assuming that last post was a joke, I will agree that I do not believe the current coaching staff is very good. For the most part, especially lately, practices have been a joke and I can't imagine they are making these kids any better. I will say, though, that from what I've seen/heard, Coach Miller actually knows what he's talking about with pitching and catching and actually works with the players to make them better. Bucci on the other hand is a moron. All I've seen/heard is him complaining or ranting and raving about nonsense. The guy does no coaching in practice or during games. You can base the success he's seen (at least at CM) on the fact that he came into a program with an extremely talented group of seniors, juniors, and some sophomores. I'd say that most people could have coached this year's and last year's teams to the playoffs. It makes me laugh when I hear people saying that Bucci is a good coach.

At least last year Lonero was there who Bucci would take orders from. Lonero knew how to run a structured baseball practice and has a high baseball IQ but was unfortunately a cancer for the team's chemistry.

Anonymous said...

The master eh?

A lot of activity here. I guess some people have boring jobs or are like me and unemployed. A lot of attacking and questioning has been going on too. Kinda odd for this to be happening when CM just won a section championship. I think its hitting some people that despite the standings, PT is still the best team in the section.

Speaking of PT, I would probably start Merich in game one. Itd be tempting to start their #3 guy, Stratico but with a shrot leash. I would then imagine them to follow up with JJ in game two assuming they win. Talk about one heck of a showdown...

I personally laughed pretty hard when i read the Scott Henson post...

Anonymous said...

I think they should change the name from of the Varsity Letters to welcome to CM sports blog.

Anonymous said...

Luckily this isn't the BCS where reporters/fans are given a ballot to select who they would like to see as section champs. It would be interesting to see how CM vs Peters would fare in a seven game play off situation.

Anonymous said...

The BCS allows fans to vote? Fill me in on where i can get a ballot...

Anonymous said...

There’s a lot of negativity in the CM Baseball program. You people should be proud of your 2008 Section Championship because you don’t even deserve it. You weren’t even the 4th best team in the section and correct me if I’m wrong you don’t even have a D1 player. Do you even have a D2 player??? Whenever you run this coaching staff out and bring back the joke of the South, Scott Henson, that will be three easy wins just like always for PT. Thanks for doing us a favor. When Coach Maize retires we would love to have your coaching staff because if we did this year we would have definitely been the section champs. Why don’t you use your energy to cheer on your “boys” for the playoffs…I always know Canon Mac was pathetic, but I didn’t know just how pathetic until now.

Anonymous said...

A couple of questions...
1. Why is Scott Henson such a joke? Obviously at least one reader thinks he is/was a great coach. And he does have a wpial title.

2. Andre Hayden or Pete Ross? Both have been great for their respective teams. Ross is the better stick, but Hayden is in another class defensively. Who do you take if starting a team tomorrow, hayden or ross?

3. Chocolate Truffles as a nickname? I'm assuming this refers to the catcher at peters. As one read wrote, it sets up this scenario for the battery: Nick "the stud" Merich throwing to Jordan Chocolate Truffles Jancowsky

- Brian's Son

Anonymous said...

You are right - there is a lot of negativity in CM baseball. The boys have done a great job this year - no one can take their record away from them. I think the bickering goes on because there always seems to be politics going on and some kids don't get the same chances as others. That is probably just life, right? I don't know how you can say we weren't even the fourth best team in the division. I don't think their win/loss record was imaginary...CM Baseball - Keep up the good work and I wish you the best in the playoffs!

Anonymous said...

CM not the 4th best team? HA! What is the difference if CM has no D1 or D2 players?(Pierpont is and i believe Hayden had offers) That is a rather superficial way to look at things. If teams were judged on the number of scholarships given out rather than wins and loses then i guess you are right CM wouldnt be in first place. Ya we are pathetic, but look at it this way, you and your squad finished behind a group of pathetic people... Anonymous PT fan, you are exactly why CM despises your school.

Anonymous said...

Brian,

Whoever said they were your son in the third to last post is an imposter. Just lettin you know.
You know Dre's my boy.

Anonymous said...

What the heck is a Peters poster doing on here, I thought this was strictly a CM blog lol. But seriously, would this Peters fan please elaborate on their irrational statement claiming that CM isn't even the fourth best team in the section? And are you also saying that our coaching staff is better than yours?

And when our current coaching staff leaves we will most certainly hire someone other than Scott Henson.

Anonymous said...

Who do the readers feel will be the key player in the postseason for each of the following teams: Bethel Park, Peters, and CM?

For Bethel I think the key performer is going to Jim Meyer. He is their leadoff hitter and has good power and speed. But the area that will be make or break is his defense. He has a weak arm (for a SS) and has booted several routine plays this year. BP's pitchers are not big strikeout guys but they do throw a lot of groundballs and it will be up to Meyer to flash shades of Ed Kessler in order for BP to advance.

For Peters I think the key guy is Pete Ross. Most people would probably point to JJ (chocolate truffles lol), EZ Rider, "the stud" Merich, or Jimmy The Rat (stratico), but I think Ross is the key. He has been great all year at second base. Maybe the best defensive player at that position not named Dre Hayden. Also he is a tremendous hitter. Considering their lineup goes Rider, Ross, and JJ-- it'll be up to Ross to keep mashing to put pressure on Latrobe's pitching and all other opponents.

Now for the Big Macs. The names Hull, Dittmar, Pierpont, Murphy, Hayden and Toward are all major pieces to the puzzle. For my money though the two major keys will be Philip Staab and Aaron Wiegel. When the offense has been rolling, it has been because guys like Staab and Wiegel have been driving in the big hitters in front of them. If these two can click-- watch out!

Anonymous said...

For the Hawks, I think it will come down to how their pitching holds up. The young lefty, Clark, Delpercio and Treusel will have to keep the opponents to under five runs per game and then hope that either Leviseur or Meyer can catch fire at the right time.

Peters, it seems to me that when they get into trouble it normally is there defense and pitching that fails them. Therefore I think JJ and Merich will be the keys for them to advance deep in to WPIAL play-offs when they are on the mound.

As far as CM interesting choice in selecting Weigle and Staab. When they are hot they do form a deadly duo that can wreck havoc to opponents pitching staff. However, I would have to cast my vote for Dittmar and Douglas. If they can shut down the opposing team, CM should do just fine.

Anonymous said...

For BP, I completely agree that they will have to play quality defense behind their pitchers. Leviseur and Meyer are two very tough outs for any team. (Average runs scored in section=6.53 per game / Average runs allowed in section=4.13 per game)

For PT, they obviously have an extremely dangerous lineup with power throughout. I agree that all of the aforementioned players could make quality contributions. But, I would keep my eye on Pat Gallagher who has come up with some key hits over the past two years (3-4 with a home run in last year's WPIAL finals).
(ARF=7.2 / ARA=5.46)

For CM, this team has made several late game comebacks which really says something about the desire and determination of these kids (a little luck doesn't hurt either). Several different kids have come through in big spots for this team, and that's what makes a good team. Very good observation with Wiegel/Staab. If they, along with those behind them in the order, can get some guys on base, CM should be in good shape with their pretty dependable top of the order.
(ARF=7.07 / ARA=4.87)

Bottom line, we're talking about three solid teams who have all beaten each other this year. All three are extremely capable of making deep runs in the playoffs. If any of these teams can hold their opponents to four runs or less, I see no reason why they won't advance. Time to sit back and enjoy some playoff baseball.

Anonymous said...

For BP to make a playoff run they have to pull out some great pitching that is backed up by great defense. BP has some great hitters but they dont have a great lineup thats gonna put up a bunch of runs against playoff teams. They cannot have any big mistakes in the field that cost them runs. They do not have a PT lineup that can put up monster numbers at the plate.

CM has the talent in every apsect of the game but they need to put it all together. They have some top notch pitchers, a good defense, and some great bats. If they can put this all together i think they have a shot at makin a run at a WPIAl title. Guys like Hull, Staab and Weigs need to be .350 hitters and they need score runs. The top of the lineup must get on base and they need to score. CM was fortunate to have a bye which means they may be able to keep a few arms fresh but i still think a guy like Mike Spartz, Mike Hull or Mike Toward may need to ptich a few shutdown innings too.The coaches cant be afraid or hesitant to put one of these kids in the game to pitch. They are plenty good enough as long as they pitch with confidence.

PT has all the makings of a team that can win it all. They are playing good baseball right now but what would concern me as a PT fan is what happens if JJ or Merich run into trouble. How deep is that rotation? Stratico can pitch too but who is after him that can shutdown a Seneca Valley, a Canon McMillan or a Central Catholic?

Anonymous said...

It is amazing how many people have been critical of the CM coaches and team this season. People (disgruntled parents?) have now even begun to attack the types of practices that the team is having. "My son is getting home at 5:30 instead of 6pm! How am I supposed to satisfy my husband without this extra 30 minutes? These coaches suck" That's basically how ridiculous the arguments have been.

As a Chartiers-Houston resident, I only wish I could send my son to CM. I don't know the coaches there, but I am familiar with some of the players from Legion ball and I know my son would benefit a lot from playing better caliber competition on a more regular basis. Legion ball is/was a joke under the direction of S.D. so I can't imagine that the high school season would be worse. In fact no longer does Houston even have a summer legion team. Nice work SD you have finally managed to kill the only thing uniting our communities.

Anonymous said...

I too am unsure why there are attacks on the CM coaching staff. Whether they are intelligent or not, they have won arguably the hardest section in the PIAA. Not only have they won, but they have won after losing arguably their 3 most valuable players. Brian Muransky, Derek Zofchak, and Mike Mish. 3 irreplaceable kids. Call it luck, call it the kids, but somewhere along the lines they must have done something right. Maybe they have an unorthadox way of doing things, but the results spell success. Before the season i had CM 3rd or 4th in the section behind PT, BP, and possibly Lebo. Needless to say they surpased my expectations. To get on the coaching staff and rip them is silly, unpractical, and down right unfair. It would be one thing if they had just finished 4th or 5th in section, but the last time i checked the standings it read CM on top. So Bucci and co. don't practice the way CM players and parents think is appropriate for winning in high school baseball, but what success outside of the uber talented 05 team has CM baseball had? I know someone will come on here say this years senior class is very talented and have won their whole life, and that is an okay argument except that 14 and under baseball and high school baseball are totally different. Anyone who has the nerve to complain about a coach who just won a section championship a year after winning the first playoff game since Noah, Moses, and Jesus roamed the outfield... well, they don't deserve to win. I'm not saying he's Joe Torre, hell im not even calling him Jim Tracy, but if we are gonna blame him for all failures lets at least give him a pinch of credit for some of the wins and maybe cut him a break.

Anonymous said...

Brian, Do you have any personal experience with the staff? You seem to have a firm knowledge base regarding the team and the coaches. I was just wondering if you played for them, have a kid on the team, or are friends with some of the players?

The reason I ask is that my sons will eventually be coming up to the high school and I have heard a lot of different opinions from people in the community.

A few players on the current team live in my neighborhood and they have basically all said the same thing- Coach Bucci does a solid job preparing the team in practice and is very good with in-game decisions. Coach Barna isn't there often, but he does bring a lot of experience to the table and seems to teach the kids well. Coach Lonero is the biggest ego maniac on the planet and knows very little about baseball. They also said that he didn't back up what he told people. Coach Jay has shown the hitters some things they had never thought/heard of before and brings a great amount of knowledge to the table. Coach Miller has been described as knowledgable about pitching mechanics and a mad scientist when it comes to calling games.

Now the parents I've talked to have mostly said bad things about Bucci, Barna, Jay, and Miller. The only comments that consistently matched up (parents and players) was that Lonero was an incompetent moron thats coaching was like getting a root canal.

I will always listen to the kids first over the parents because the kids usually arent corrupted by the political elements that affect high school sports. If you, brian, can shed some light on this for me it would certainly give me peace of mind thanks.

Anonymous said...

I for one may have been overly critical of this coaching staff in a year when they have indeed won the section title in quite possibly the toughest section in PA. While I do not necessarily agree with all of their methods or some of the politics involved, I will give some credit to this staff for the team's succes.

Good luck in the playoffs CM.

Anonymous said...

As a long-time ago parent of a successful high school baseball player, I am truly disheartened to see that today's parents have not changed at all from that time when my son was in high school, in fact, they may be worse. Aren't you ashamed of yourselves. This is a time when you should be cheering on your team, and your son (if he is one of the players)not starting or contributing to disharmony among the players as they go into the playoffs. Are you so childish that you want to ruin your teams ability to succeed because you have an immature need to blame someone else for all of your life's failures.

Coaches in high school deserve your respect, even when they don't win - they try, they influence your sons, they spend a lot of time because they love the game and they love working with young people.

Any parent who has contributed to this board with malicious statements about the coaches or the individual players should be ashamed of themselves. Fortunately, these people can only influence their own child and the like-minded people they associate with. Nevertheless it would be naive to think that your poisonous personalities don't impact the team as a whole.

Be careful, parents, you may get what you wish for and your team will never live up to its full potential.

KiPA - Kevin in PA said...

The first post here said it was interesting that Bethel Park was "the last team in" as viewed by the committee. Well, they won 5-0 over No. 4 Central Catholic today. Peters Township was postponed until Saturday (at North Allegheny at 1 p.m.)

Anonymous said...

There have been some comments made on here about a former CM coach named Bill Lonero that are very inacurate. I'm not sure who made these comments or why they made them considering he doesnt coach any more, but i would like to set the record straight.

Bill Lonero knows baseball. The guy knows and loves the game and is very passionate about it. Sometimes too passionate. Lonero was a key piece to CM's success last year. However, he was also a key piece to some of the turmoil the brewed up at times. Whoever it was that said they heard kids talk poorly about Lonero, well i find that hard to believe. He was very much liked by the kids and always tried to help them. The problem that he had was that he said things that he should not have to some of the kids. I don't want to go into much detail about that, but because of this, there was no place for him on the team.

Anonymous said...

I believe this whole blog thing is the most ridiculous thing i have eve heard. I believe it is a way for people throughout the community who think they know everything there is to know about baseball can voice their opinions about coaching decisions and other things that they know nothing about. And any person who would come on here and bad mouth a player who is at the very oldest 18 yrs. old, is pathetic. Grow up. Dont talk about the players or the coaches or the practices unless you have been there and watched the whole practice in detail and have been there for every thing that has gone on through the 2 years Bucci has been there. Most people just believe everything they hear, but remember there are many sides to a story.

And to answer the first question of why this whole blog started. It doesnt matter who they pitch because all of the pitchers will be ready to come in when there is any trouble. And the Big Macs have enough depth to fill any spot when Dittmar, Pierpont, or Douglas is pitching. For instance, when Dittmar pitches the bring in Matt Parisse who has the best arm of any of the outfielders to go along with the best accuracy. When Pierpont pitches, they have Hayden to play shortstop who plays it as well as Pierpont and Spartz at second who is just as reliable as any other 2nd baseman. And when Douglas pitches, SPartz plays 3rd which is where he should have been the whole year, no doubt.

Anonymous said...

Anyone know when the quarterfinals for 4-A will be? I didn't know if the rainouts today would have an impact on the next round or not. also can someone please tell me where all of the canonmac stats that have been tossed around on this board came from?

KiPA - Kevin in PA said...

For what it's worth, I was hearing the quarterfinals would be Monday or Tuesday, though those were conflicting reports, but that was before the rain Friday pushed several games to Saturday. In my humble opinion, I can't imagine the WPIAL would schedule the baseball AND softball quarterfinals both for Monday, but you never know.

Anonymous said...

I think that BP upset once again shows just how tough this section is. Hopefully we can see two section 3 teams in the WPIAL championship again.

KiPA - Kevin in PA said...

Well, the WPIAL released the dates for baseball today, and I must say my mind is boggled a little. All Class AA quarterfinal games are Tuesday, three out of four AAA games are Tuesday (except the one local team left, Trinity, which is Monday), three of four Class A games are Monday, including the two locals (Carmichaels and C-H), and Quad-A is still mostly TBD.

Canon-Mac will play Tuesday. The Seneca Valley-PT/Latrobe game is listed as "Tues. 5/19" but Tuesday is the 20th. Bethel Park will play Monday or Tuesday and the Plum-Butler game is Monday.

For those keeping score at home, of the baseball/softball local teams already in the quarters, nine of 10 play Monday.

Also, the six softball teams play at five different sites. Carmichaels, C-H and Trinity baseball all play at Burkett, and C-M's site is TBD.

Anonymous said...

Hernn, CM stats are coming from the CM baseball Eteamz website...you have to regiseter and be approved by site manager...

Anonymous said...

Grouchy Anonymous,

Chill. I guess you've never heard of a blog before this one...
This is kinda what they are for. No doubt some things have been posted that are inacurate and perhaps not as nice as they should be. Oh well.

You really confuse me when you say don't talk about players, coaches or practices unless you've watched the entire practice and know all thats gone on the past two years...
If you mix up certain pieces of that i kinda agree.
I personally don't think anything should ever be mentioned about practices and stuff like that. But i think people should be allowed to say stuff about the coaches and players a little, just perhaps more positive. You at the end say that Spartz should have been at 3rd all year(i am not disputing this with you), but isnt talk like that about the players? Isnt that saying he is better than someone else? I understand you're probably a little angry about some stuff thats been said here so you say no one should say anything about the players or coaches, but then you go and end with something like that...

btw, i think it does matter who they pitch.

You know, everything is gonna be alright....

Anonymous said...

i believe brian i said, "don't talk about the players, coaches, or practices unless you have been there the whole time since Bucci has been there."

Anonymous said...

So you have been there the entire time?

Anonymous said...

Does anyone even read the garbage that Brian slings around? His opinions are absolutely worthless and add nothing to any intelligent discussions that are on this board.

Anonymous said...

1. At least he has the stones to leave his name next to his comments (I know I don't but I'm not the one criticizing him)

2. He adds extremely thoughtful and thought-provoking ideas on this blog.

3. How can you criticize him with the crap that has been posted in this "intelligent discussion"? (Ex: factually incorrect statements like the person bashing Andre Hayden)

4. You have a worthless opinion and you are slinging around garbage.

5. Rather than retaliate at me, why don't you add something intelligent to the discussion.

I for one am extremely excited for a particular game in the upcoming round. Peters/Seneca is one heck of a match-up. Possibly the WPIAL's best pitcher facing possibly the WPIAL's most dangerous offense. Preseason number one squaring off against preseason number two. Mazzoni vs Jankowski. WOW

Anonymous said...

Entire time bucci has been there... 2 years?(which is what i said)


Intersting you should mention that my posts are garbage and my opinions worthless... I suppose that means you read them. Fear not though, i read yours too. And let me tell you, you really just added a lot to the discussion. Carry on.


Did anyone attend the BP game? Any thoughts on it?

Anonymous said...

Ah... Some slight ambiguity in my last post... When i said you i did not mean that you were worthless, i just meant that in order for you to knnow how horrible they were, you must have read them. And your question was... "Does anyone even read the garbage that Brian slings around?"

A:You

Sorry about the mix-up!

Anonymous said...

Brian i'm not sure how you became public enemy #1, but it is not justified. I heard some of the BP game and it appears that NA was able to overcome their own mistakes, while BP wasn't. The NA section (AAAA-section 1 i think) is looking very very good in the post-season. All 4 of their reps are still in the playoffs and it would not be a surprise to see an all section 1 final four! With that said, CM is going to need to play a darn good game to get the job done tomorrow night-- i guess you could say that about any team/game tho. Will you be going Brian? You seem to be a die-hard CM fan and/or player.

Anonymous said...

Haha thanks.

If all goes well tomorrow, i hope to catch both CM and PT... BUT i am a bit confused because on here it says PT plays at 4 but MSA has them scheduled to play at 5 which would make my dream impossible.

I am really interested in the Seneca Valley/PT game. Seneca boasts an impressive resume and has only given up more than 5 runs in a game once and that was in a 17-7 win over Mt Lebo. PT on the other hand is avg about 10.5 runs per game over their last nine games... Should be a dandy

CM and Shaler should be good too. Shaler has only lost twice in their last 15 games and both were to Seneca Valley. I hope Cm does not take them lightly because they are a very good team. CM on the other hand has enough talent to win this one without too much trouble. If the bats get going like they should and the top of the lineup gets on base, i would be shocked if CM didnt come away with a win.

Side note:
CM is 5-0 in one-run games.
Shaler is 2-4.

Anonymous said...

Brian
thank you for the interesting stats! given the record in one-run games for CM would you say that has a lot to do with good coaching (after reading this blog it appears that the big mac faithful feel this staff would be better off pouring kerosene down their collective mouths than attempting to coach a baseball game)? You have to figure that a coaching staff is likely to be exposed (good or bad) in those tight games and their decisions throughout the course of the game SHOULD have much more meaning in a 3-2 game than a 15-1 game.

KiPA - Kevin in PA said...

PT-Seneca is at 5. I'll be in attendance and possibly blogging from it.

Anonymous said...

actually yes i have been there the whole 2 years Bucci has been there. to the anonymous comment that is 8 above

Anonymous said...

bluff

Anonymous said...

What a game. CM vs Shaler comes down to the finish and ends with your everyday 1-5-2-6-4-2 double play. CM wins their sixth one-run game with a final score of 1-0

Anonymous said...

CM has heart, the coaching staff is great. But i know a man by the name of Ron and he has the same birthday as I and he has heart. We been there the whole season through ups and downs and all iknow is CM will win a WPIAL championship

Anonymous said...

No doubt about that one 7/28. Ron(Hayden)sure is a classy man. He left the game with quite a few seeds left on his chair though, not sure how happy he's gonna be about that one tomorrow. I'm sure a nice wine cooler will ease the pain.

Anonymous said...

Shaler must have had flash backs of the game winning 40ft shot at the buzzer, as Chuck Murphy placed the last tag on a sliding Shaler player in one of the most unorthodox double plays to end a WPIAL play – off game. The same Murphy hit the game winning 40ft shot to put an end to Shaler basketball play off run as well. Congrads to the BIG MAC behind an outstanding pitching by Douglas and Dittmar to advance to the next round.
I had the pleasure to sit next to some distinguished CM baseball alumni and to hear 10/20, the good looking 7/28, (Red Lobster it is) and of course the master B. My only disappointed of the evening came when the younger 728 left me alone to address his adorning female fan base. Other than that, a great evening for baseball. GO MACS!!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for leaving me out older 7/28. Hopefully we can reunite the same crew tonight at 5:00 to analyze, cheer, and get on the opposing team's first baseman. Should be quite a matchup.

Let's go Big Macs!!!

Anonymous said...

CM needs to regroup and realize their season isn't over. If i remember correctly, SV didnt play for the WPIAL championship last year and we all know how their season finished up. Tough loss and it's an absolute shame they didnt get the chance to play for the WPIAL, but they must move one and capture this second opportunity.

Anonymous said...

Ya it sure has been quiet on here since the Plum loss. It's obviously not where CM wanted to be right now but hey, i'm pretty sure states are a little more important than the WPIAL playoffs. We need to regroup, refocus, and win the consolation game so that we can make a run in the state playoffs.

Anonymous said...

After a wrenching lost, it takes time to jump back on the horse again.
If there was any team in the WPIAL can bounce back, it is this group of
BIG MACS. Does anyone know anything about NA? How ironic that the Big Mac have to defeat NA to advance to the states. Both the Big Mac basketball and baseball teams have had their share of emotions displayed on the campus of NA during the last few months and now it comes down to the baseball version of CM defeating NA to advance to state. GO MACS!!!

Anonymous said...

as for the earlier posts about the spartz/douglas situation. i believe the reason douglas continued to play is because he was flat out better at 3rd. for every strike out that douglas, it seemed as though spartz had a throwing error. douglas can get hot at anytime at the plate as proved by his performance in the state championship game (spartz has never had a good bat and has never had a "hot streak"). also to add i believe douglas hit a homerun about every other game during the legions season. finished with about 13 or so?? this just further proves his power and potential

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Highlands Baseball is looking strong for the 2009 baseball season. Returning starter Ryan Luzik is going to be a key factor in their season. With good leadership and hard work captian Jeff Campbell can lead the rams to a season like no other.

Anonymous said...

I think Highlands has a shot to make a playoff run this year. They are returning alot of key players including what will likely be one of the best batteries in the WPIAL in Pitcher Ryan Luzik and catcher Ben Barch. He has the chance to be one of the best catchers in the WPIAL and Ryan can prove to be one of the best pitchers. Also they will have some solid bats returning to the line up as well. Watch for them to make a run at the section this year.

Anonymous said...

I believe that bethel park has the strongest team in section 3 this year by a long shot. They have a deep talented pool of seniors anchored by veterans jimmy meyer jake kalkbrenner and rising star mike ganley. Anything less than a section and wpial title should be a disappointment.