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Last night the Yawkey League took the night off to participate in YBL HOFer Steve Buckley’s Old Time Baseball Game.  Filling up the coaching staffs were Brian Carey, Mike Powers, Carl Rodriguez, James Greeley, Alex Lee and there was a good amount of Yawkey League talent filling both rosters as well.  All funds raised went toward Boston vs. Bullies.

Tonight we stay at the same venue, St. Peter’s Field in Cambridge (if the game is rained out, it will be moved to the turf at Maplewood), but we are back to working hard to crown a 2016 Yawkey League Champion.  This is Game 3 with #2 seed Somerville Alibrandis holding a 2-0 lead over the #1 seeded Al Thomas Athletics.  We know there will be offensive heroes tonight as these two potent line-ups have no fear of a field with 320′ dimensions all the way around, we just don’t know who they will be.  That said, let’s get to the wings.

Both teams have depth on the mound, so there are plenty of fresh arms available, especially with the two built-in off days this week.  ATBC will start Bobby Freeman who may be their hottest hand.  Freeman is already 2-0 this postseason after a fantastic 6-1 record during the regular season.  A true “ball-in-play” guy, he will rely on the very capable ATBC defense.

Alibrandis will counter with Chris Costa who had a breakout year for the Red Army this year leaving the bullpen behind for a spot in the starting rotation.  After starting the year 4-0, he has lost his last 2 decisions overall.  Is that the jump start that ATBC needs to get themselves going in this series?

The alumni for both teams are excited, the venue is perfect and this is the match-up that we have been waiting for all season.  Pack a cooler, call Armando’s Pizza 617-354-8275 and get down to St. Peters Field at 7:30pm to catch the best amateur baseball action you’ll find anywhere.  For those of you watching remotely, Matt Grimes and I will be playing the part of Kenny Blankenship and Vic Romano via the Yawkey League Facebook page.  Buckle up, this is the YBL Championship Series, Game 3!!!

The debate has gone on for decades…some players treat a playoff game like it’s just a regular season game (see Tom Brady’s nap before SuperBowl XXXVI), other folks say the playoffs are a different animal altogether (see Michael Phelps’ Face in Rio).  Somerville Alibrandis seems to have hit that extra playoff gear that they have been known to show in August almost every year.  On the strength of 8 extra base hits, including 6 doubles and homers by 2015 YBL Playoff MVP Billy Karalis and Will Brennan (both pictured above), the Red Army took a 2-0 series lead.  Every Alibrandi starter recorded a hit including multi-hit games from Mike Maguire, Ted Dziuba, Bobby Barrett, Karalis, Brennan, Jimmy Ricoy and Mark Addesa.

The aging Alibrandis pitching staff can’t completely shut down an Al Thomas offense that scored the most regular season runs of any team in YBL History, but the Red offense is certainly taking the pressure off so far this series.  ATBC had multi-hit games from Freddi Carrera, Tom Trull and Mike Hicks as their offense is never out of any game.

Alibrandis takes its 2-0 series lead to St. Peter’s Field in Cambridge for Game 3 on Friday night at 7:30pm.  The bandbox of a field should allow these offenses to trade punches once again as no lead is safe.  Each pitching staff will be challenged to hit every spot all night long to stay away from big innings.

If there is one team that can swing big and get back in the series, the 2016 Athletics is that team.  Can they get swinging while cooling down the Somerville bats?  Can Bernie put together a solid line-up without Littman and Ricoy in Cambridge?  Will Chris Costa, Jon Morse and Lamarre Rey ever see the mound?    Stay tuned tomorrow…

Tonight we pause Yawkey action to honor our commitment to YBL HOFer Steve Buckley in support of his Old Time Baseball Game.  This year’s game will feature several Yawkey baseballers and will raise funds for Boston vs Bullies (http://www.bostonvsbullies.org/) to help keep bullying out of our schools.  I hope to see as many YBL guys there as is possible.  St. Peter’s Field in Cambridge, 7pm start.

After a one night hiatus the YBL returns to Adams Field in Quincy at 7:30 tonight for Game 2 of the YBL Championship Series.  Somerville Alibrandis is off to a 1-0 series lead as the Al Thomas Club looks to even things up.  We won’t go into too much detail about two of the deepest and most powerful offenses that this League has ever seen, so let’s go right to the guys getting the ball.

The visitors will go with YBL Veteran Chris Foundas in this one.  Foundy went 4-1 with a sub-3.00 ERA this regular season and is coming off a CG win in his only 2016 postseason start.  His strikeouts are down and his base runners allowed are up, but he has been in big games before.

The home team will counter with Pat Bresnehan after a 6-0 regular season in the YBL, while already 1-0 in the playoffs.  2016 marked Bresnehan’s return to the YBL after a stellar college career at Arizona State University and a professional career that spanned 2006-2012 with both Independent ball and Pittsburgh Pirates organization.  Expect ATBC to have a fully rested arsenal in the bullpen after a night off as well.

Best of luck to both teams!!!  O/U 11.0.

*Photos courtesy of Craig Henry ([email protected]).  For more from Game 1…

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hq2xgo7qd4ol0sj/AAD-xF0QcmznbLTzavAtXisxa?dl=0

As has been very common this post-season, home field advantage has been quickly stripped from the higher seed.  I’m sure this doesn’t matter to teams like ATBC and Alibrandis as they are equipped to pitch, hit and play defense anywhere, anytime.  Game 1 saw the #1 Al Thomas Athletics get out to a 1-0 lead in the 3rd which only started a night of two heavyweights standing in the middle of the ring going toe to toe trading punches.  Alibrandis tied it in the 4th and ATBC would quickly take the lead once again.

Alibrandis would score late runs in bunches which has been the rule lately, putting up 5 in the 5th.  RBI doubles by Teddy Dziuba and Will Brennan would be the key run scoring hits while Bobby Barrett would continue his torrid pace chipping in with 3 more hits.  The story on the mound for the Red Army was the Red Ace, Sean Sullivan.  He limited the vaunted ATBC offense to 4 hits and 2 runs, one earned.  He kept his defense busy all night and they made the plays.  He moves his career post-season record to 13-0.

ATBC played a nice mix and match game with their multi-faceted bullpen, including the return of playoff stud Willie Archibald, who threw a scoreless inning with one strikeout.  Their RBI were knocked in by 2016 YBL MVP favorite Freddi Carrera and Mike Hicks.

Alibrandis takes Game 1 by a final of 7-2.  Game 2 is at Adams Field in Quincy at 7:30pm on Wednesday 8/24.

Season Review

As teams jockey for playoff positioning in the closing months of each Yawkey Baseball League season, there are a few certainties that the league has found to be true. The first being: “Don’t lose homefield advantage to the guys with permits for Rec Park”, and the second being “Don’t line up against Mike Smith when he can start twice in a 5-game series”.

This matchup pits 2 very dangerous YBL squads, with the 3^rd-seeded Stoneham Sabres hosting the #6-seed Brighton Braves.  Stoneham enters the postseason with an impressive 23-9 record, their 5^th consecutive 20+ win season. Sporting the league’s fastest defense and arguably its deepest pitching staff, Stoneham has wins against every single playoff franchise this season. With pinpoint control (League-best 55 walks allowed) and an outfield that can literally track down EVERY fly ball, Stoneham is a darkhorse favorite to win their first league title this postseason.

The Stals will have to get past the Brighton Braves, whose 16-16 record was good enough to lock up the 6^th seed this season. A veteran squad with plenty of playoff experience, Ted Tracy and co. will seek to advance past the opening round for the first time since Mike Smith’s legendary Game 5 shutout on 3 days rest in 2013. The 2016 version boasts a scary pitching staff in the top 5 in the league in ERA and WHIP, with power arms that struck out a franchise-record 207 batters.

The Sabres edged out the Braves 2 games to 1 in head-to-head action this season, so this best of 5 series could go either way.

Probable Matchups

Game 1 – Sam Cummings (4-1, 28 IP, 1.75 ERA, 29 K’s) vs. Mike Smith (5-3, 59.2 IP, 1.17 ERA, 69 K’s)

Game 2 – Chris Dion (6-1, 45.1 IP, 1.54 ERA, 34 K’s) vs. Richard Arms (0-7, 40.1 IP, 4.51 ERA, 34 K’s)

Game 3 – David Montiverdi (2-2, 36.2 IP, 2.83 ERA, 19 K’s) vs. Greg Sherman (3-2, 33.2 IP, 3.33 ERA, 32 K’s)

Players to Watch

Kevin Luciano remains one of the most dangerous hitters in the YBL. With a team high 25 RBI on 14 extra base hits, Kevin can expect an healthy dose of offspeed this postseason. Tommy Lenane has been Stoneham’s breakout star in 2016, tallying a team-high 38 hits while playing gold glove defense at the hot corner. Angelo Colucci notched his 200^th career hit earlier this month, and will bring his veteran leadership to what is hopefully a very deep playoff run.

The Sabres best arm might not even start a game this series – Corey McNamara has solidified his role in the back of the Stoneham bullpen with a Sub-2.00 ERA and 2 saves in his last 5 appearances of the seasons, striking out over a batter per inning. Coupled with lockdown defense, don’t expect the Stals to cough up any leads.

Former Wofford star and Braves’ leadoff man Alex Lee lead the league in stolen bases in 2016 and added 29 runs scored, setting the table for the Braves’ big bats. Perennial silver slugger Billy Uberti led the squad in homers and RBI’s and catcher Alex Joyce chipped in with 25 hits of his own, while shutting down opposing baserunners from behind the plate.

Former major leaguer Mike Smith won his second consecutive league strikeout crown, and although his pulled up lame running out a ground ball during the team’s final regular season game, you can be sure that this gamer has the ball in his hands game 1 and all bets are off once that fastball/changeup combo is working. Expect the Braves to go as far as that right arm will take them.

Wild Cards

Former Curry College standout Derek Pizarro scored a career-high 36 runs en route to an all-star campaign for Stoneham. He has been the straw that stirs the drink for this offense and if he gets on base, it will be a tough task to keep him from crossing the plate.

Despite going winless this regular season, Richard Arms’ pure stuff is simply too good to be banged around. Expect his sharp breaking ball and sinking fastball to be in command this series.

Look for the Braves to try and lock this series up by Saturday as they will not want the series to be decided at Rec Park this weekend. Nobody beats the Stals at the beach, and they have the speed and defense to tip the scales at their home diamond.

Series Prediction

The league’s reigning top arm – Mike Smith – has the repertoire and pedigree to win any time the ball is in his hand. Will that be enough to counter a Stoneham lineup that has already beaten the league’s best on multiple occasions?  We shall see.

Expect some hard-fought baseball between two first class franchises this series.

Stoneham defeats Brighton 3-1 in the first round.

Season Review

As two of the league’s winningest franchises in recent memory, the South Boston Saints and Revere Rockies are set to square off this Tuesday in what will surely be a hard-fought opening round matchup.  Having never missed the postseason, freshman coach Nate Laliberte’s Rockies faces a tough test in future Hall of Famer Jon Tenney’s South Boston Saints, who have made it to postseason play in 8 of the last 9 seasons.

Down 2-0 in last year’s opening round, the Rockies made a heroic comeback to advance past the Al Thomas A’s, later bowing out to an East Boston Knights team stacked with elite arms in the semi-finals. But the Purple & Black entered 2016 as a team to beat, considered by many as early-season favorites to repeat as an impact playoff squad.

Thanks in part to a hot June which saw Revere cruise to wins in 8 of 9 games, the Rockies have been amongst the league’s best all season.  The season nearly derailed in early-June when ace Alex Wong went down with an elbow injury.  However, the Rocks added newcomer Pat Shore (Stonehill) to an already deep pitching staff which overcame Wong’s absence to finish in the top 3 in both ERA and WHIP.  Offensively, the experienced lineup (They will enter postseason play with over 1,000 playoff at-bats under their belt) faced some ups and downs in 2016 but still managed to finish in the league’s top 5 in scoring.

The Saints opened up the year having lost an entire squad’s worth of YBL All-Stars to retirement, injury, and adulthood. Faced with fielding a squad without names like Graham, Wicks, Hueston, Evans and Geoghegan in the starting lineup, the Saints mustered together one of the league’s best offenses with a mix of new blood and veteran talent.  Overcoming an early season slide that had them well below .500 at the all-star break, South Boston would go on to win an incredible 12 of 13 games down the stretch, en route to securing the league’s #5 seed.

The story this year for the Saints has been all about timely hitting and superb defense.  While their pitching staff has struggled at times (5.04 ERA & 132 walks), they’ve managed to fill up the bases offensively, and sport the league’s 3rd best average at the time of this writing.  South Boston will look to ride their impressive July wave straight into a first round victory.

Probable Matchups

Game 1 –Adam Del Rio (5-0, 34.1 IP, 1.63 ERA, 27 K’s) vs.  Stephano Stravoravdis (6-4, 65.2 IP, 3.94 ERA, 48 K’s)

Game 2 – John Young (3-3, 38 IP, 3.13 ERA, 27 K’s) vs.  Dan Shaw (5-2, 50.2 IP, 4.28 ERA, 35 K’s)

Game 3 – Chris Sandini (0-3, 30 IP, 3.50 ERA, 29 K’s) vs.  Brad Bousquet (1-2, 32 IP, 6.56 ERA, 32 K’s)

Players to Watch

Adam Del Rio turned in a Cy Young-caliber campaign for Revere, going 5-0 with a 1.63 ERA.  At the plate, the usual suspects were back at it in 2016, with Chris Santosuosso leading the way with 35 hits, and Bobby Foote shaking off a tepid start with a torrid July to finish with a club-best 19 RBI.  Keep an eye on Chris Hartery – a career .345 hitter with over 300 hits, he’s starting to heat up at the plate after a slow start.

Former Babson College standout Trevor Boyce, who once won a Rawlings Gold Glove award for his skills in center field, remains one of the league’s top defenders.  Adding a .392 campaign with 29 runs scored and a team-high 40 hits, and Trevor’s impact cannot be understated.  Joining Trevor offensively is Cambridge-product Ted Downing, who chipped in with 29 hits of his own in his rookie campaign.  Jon Tenney drove in 21 runs (his highest total since 2007) and has tallied 300+ hits and 450+ innings pitched in his illustrious career.

Wild Cards

Who cares if he went 0-3 this regular season…Chris Sandini has the makeup and experience to anchor the Rockies pitching staff this August.  Chris brings 111 career playoff innings and 9 career playoff wins into the 2016 postseason, elevating his game when the lights are the brightest.

Despite the staff’s pitching woes overall, South Boston workhorse Stephano Stravoravdis led the YBL in innings pitched (65.2) with key wins against playoff teams from East Boston and Brighton.  A win in game 1 will set the tone for a Saints series victory.

Series Prediction

“It’s not how you start…it’s how you finish”

Inspirational internet memes aside, it really is all about peaking at the right time in this game.  The South Boston Saints have saved their best brand of baseball for the run-up to the playoffs, and if they keep this momentum rolling into Tuesday, Revere is in trouble.  If the Rockies’ veteran arms show up to play, they will likely earn the right to face Al Thomas in the semi-finals.  If they don’t, The Saints of South Boston will finally escape the “Boondocks” of round one and advance.

South Boston edges out Revere 3-2 in a first round that goes the distance.