In Thursday's girls basketball season preview, I mistakenly wrote that Rutgers women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer had attended a Plainfield High School practice. There was a miscommunication between Plainfield coach Elizabeth Clark and myself.
Clark called me Thursday morning and said what she actually told me was that having former Stringer player and Plainfield assistant coach Mauri Horton on her staff was "like having Coach Stringer at practice."
Friday, December 14, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
A Top 10 Experiment
I admit that after phone calls and/or emails to the 33 local high school girls basketball coaches, I still do not have a great grasp for what is going to happen this season. I swear that is not an indictment on my work, but rather a testament to how much parity is expected.
I mentioned this to my colleague Jerry Carino and told him that I did not want to make a Preseason Top 10 for fear of looking stupid. Together, we hatched the idea of putting all possible candidates into a hat and seeing what happens.
I decided against it for the newspaper, but figured it could make good blog fodder.
So, fresh out of a filthy, sweat- and sand-stained Florida Marlins cap found lying around the office, here is the out-of-a-hat Top 10. It consists of the 13 schools I considered for the Top 10 that runs in the paper as part of Thursday's lengthy season preview.
All I'll say now is that this is very different than the one I eventually printed. Only one team is in the same spot here as in the paper. Check out both.
1. North Hunterdon
2. Franklin
3. Gill St. Bernard's
4. Immacualta
5. Scotch Plains-Fanwood
6. Rutgers Prep
7. Montgomery
8. Hunterdon Central
9. Watchung Hills
10. Somerville
Others considered: Hillsborough, Westfield, Piscataway
I mentioned this to my colleague Jerry Carino and told him that I did not want to make a Preseason Top 10 for fear of looking stupid. Together, we hatched the idea of putting all possible candidates into a hat and seeing what happens.
I decided against it for the newspaper, but figured it could make good blog fodder.
So, fresh out of a filthy, sweat- and sand-stained Florida Marlins cap found lying around the office, here is the out-of-a-hat Top 10. It consists of the 13 schools I considered for the Top 10 that runs in the paper as part of Thursday's lengthy season preview.
All I'll say now is that this is very different than the one I eventually printed. Only one team is in the same spot here as in the paper. Check out both.
1. North Hunterdon
2. Franklin
3. Gill St. Bernard's
4. Immacualta
5. Scotch Plains-Fanwood
6. Rutgers Prep
7. Montgomery
8. Hunterdon Central
9. Watchung Hills
10. Somerville
Others considered: Hillsborough, Westfield, Piscataway
Monday, December 10, 2007
Nava no more
After nine seasons in the independent Atlantic League, Lipso Nava is finally advancing. Nava, who played third base and became a fan favorite for the 1998 and 1999 Somerset Patriots, accepted a Single-A coaching position Monday in the San Francisco Giants organization.
The mustached marauder (I just made that up spur of the moment) never got out of independent baseball as a player, so this is a good break. He played for the Camden Riversharks before retiring as a member of the Newark Bears. Nava was the hitting coach for Newark's 2007 championship team. Below is the contents of the Bears' press release.
NEWARK, NJ, December 10—The Newark Bears Professional Baseball Club announced today that Lipso Nava, the team’s hitting coach during the 2007 season, has accepted a minor league coaching position within the San Francisco Giants organization for the upcoming 2008 season. Nava will serve as the hitting coach and first base coach for single-A Augusta in the South Atlantic League.
“I appreciate the confidence that the Newark Bears showed in me this past season and for giving me the chance to grow, both as a coach and as a person,” said Nava. “I look forward to this opportunity to further my career and, with the help of God, reach the Major Leagues one day.”
The 39 year-old Nava guided Bears hitters to a league-record .302 team batting average in helping Newark win the 2007 Atlantic League Championship. Last season marked Nava’s first as a coach at any level of professional baseball. He retired as a player following the 2006 campaign.
“I have personally known Lipso for seven years, and I am extremely proud of him and happy for him and his family,” said Bears general manager John Brandt. “With his tremendous work ethic and the success he achieved last season, he is very deserving of this opportunity.”
In a 17-year playing career, Nava had a .274 lifetime batting average in over 1,300 games played. He batted better than .300 on three different occasions, including a career-best .332 for the Somerset Patriots in 1998. The season before, Nava reached the Triple-A level for the only time in his career, batting .266 with nine home runs for the Iowa Cubs.
The Venezuelan-born Nava played for three different Atlantic League teams over the final nine seasons of his career, the Bears, the Patriots, and the Camden Riversharks. He closed out his career playing third base for the Bears in 2006, batting .239 in an injury-shortened 52 games.
This is the second consecutive off-season that the Newark Bears have had their hitting coach hired by the San Francisco Giants. In the 2006 off-season, veteran hitting coach Victor Torres was hired to work in the Giants minor league system. Torres is expected to coach at Double-A Connecticut in 2008.
The mustached marauder (I just made that up spur of the moment) never got out of independent baseball as a player, so this is a good break. He played for the Camden Riversharks before retiring as a member of the Newark Bears. Nava was the hitting coach for Newark's 2007 championship team. Below is the contents of the Bears' press release.
NEWARK, NJ, December 10—The Newark Bears Professional Baseball Club announced today that Lipso Nava, the team’s hitting coach during the 2007 season, has accepted a minor league coaching position within the San Francisco Giants organization for the upcoming 2008 season. Nava will serve as the hitting coach and first base coach for single-A Augusta in the South Atlantic League.
“I appreciate the confidence that the Newark Bears showed in me this past season and for giving me the chance to grow, both as a coach and as a person,” said Nava. “I look forward to this opportunity to further my career and, with the help of God, reach the Major Leagues one day.”
The 39 year-old Nava guided Bears hitters to a league-record .302 team batting average in helping Newark win the 2007 Atlantic League Championship. Last season marked Nava’s first as a coach at any level of professional baseball. He retired as a player following the 2006 campaign.
“I have personally known Lipso for seven years, and I am extremely proud of him and happy for him and his family,” said Bears general manager John Brandt. “With his tremendous work ethic and the success he achieved last season, he is very deserving of this opportunity.”
In a 17-year playing career, Nava had a .274 lifetime batting average in over 1,300 games played. He batted better than .300 on three different occasions, including a career-best .332 for the Somerset Patriots in 1998. The season before, Nava reached the Triple-A level for the only time in his career, batting .266 with nine home runs for the Iowa Cubs.
The Venezuelan-born Nava played for three different Atlantic League teams over the final nine seasons of his career, the Bears, the Patriots, and the Camden Riversharks. He closed out his career playing third base for the Bears in 2006, batting .239 in an injury-shortened 52 games.
This is the second consecutive off-season that the Newark Bears have had their hitting coach hired by the San Francisco Giants. In the 2006 off-season, veteran hitting coach Victor Torres was hired to work in the Giants minor league system. Torres is expected to coach at Double-A Connecticut in 2008.
Raritan Township's Cust Academy new site for spring training
Hopefully you caught this article last week. If not, the link is pasted below. I will have more on spring training after the turn of the calendar, but this should tell you all you need to know for now.
http://c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/SPORTS05/712060301/1015
http://c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/SPORTS05/712060301/1015
Friday, November 23, 2007
Nettles, Hernandez and Brownlie, Oh My!
Just basic transactions news to report here:
-- Former Somerset Patriot Jeff Nettles has re-signed with the Kansas City Royals, who signed the third baseman after five seasons in the Atlantic League. Nettles hit .267 with eight home runs and 41 RBIs in 58 games at Double-A, but told me last season he hoped to start 2008 in Triple-A.
-- Former Patriot catcher Michel Hernandez has joined the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was the best catcher in the league both offensively and defensively before the Tampa Bay Devil Rays snatched him in June and stuck him in Triple-A. Hernandez hit .276 and only struck out 13 times in 170 at-bats, numbers good enough for the Pirates but not the D-Rays, apparently.
-- Former J.P. Stevens High School, Rutgers University and Newark Bears standout Bobby Brownlie has signed with the Washington Nationals, his third professional organization. The former first-round pick of the Chicago Cubs was masterful in half of a season with the Bears, catching the Cleveland Indians' attention. The right-hander was 1-2 with a 3.17 earned-run average in 48 1/3 innings at Double-A, but got roughed up in the final game of the Eastern League Championship Series won by the Trenton Thunder, a Yankees' affiliate.
Hopefully I'll have some quotes from Nettles and Brownlie to run in the newspaper soon.
-- Former Somerset Patriot Jeff Nettles has re-signed with the Kansas City Royals, who signed the third baseman after five seasons in the Atlantic League. Nettles hit .267 with eight home runs and 41 RBIs in 58 games at Double-A, but told me last season he hoped to start 2008 in Triple-A.
-- Former Patriot catcher Michel Hernandez has joined the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was the best catcher in the league both offensively and defensively before the Tampa Bay Devil Rays snatched him in June and stuck him in Triple-A. Hernandez hit .276 and only struck out 13 times in 170 at-bats, numbers good enough for the Pirates but not the D-Rays, apparently.
-- Former J.P. Stevens High School, Rutgers University and Newark Bears standout Bobby Brownlie has signed with the Washington Nationals, his third professional organization. The former first-round pick of the Chicago Cubs was masterful in half of a season with the Bears, catching the Cleveland Indians' attention. The right-hander was 1-2 with a 3.17 earned-run average in 48 1/3 innings at Double-A, but got roughed up in the final game of the Eastern League Championship Series won by the Trenton Thunder, a Yankees' affiliate.
Hopefully I'll have some quotes from Nettles and Brownlie to run in the newspaper soon.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
BASA breakup
If case this blog is your only source of Atlantic League news, you probably do not know that Baseball and Sports Associates is no longer what we have come to know it to be.
Before you start using negativity, remember BASA was not all bad. It saved teams lots of money on worker's compensation and was effective in business operations of minor-league baseball.
But the on-field aspect of BASA -- which handled player acquisitions for half the league last season -- is what drew ire from fans, writers and coaches alike this season, and that effectively ended last month when the leaders of BASA went their separate ways.
Adam Gladstone will now handle such responsibilities for the York Revolution, David Keller for the Camden Riversharks and Keith Lupton for the Lancaster Barnstormers.
It should be the end of shady trades, loading up one team for a playoff run while weakening another, on and on, so forth and so forth.
Sure, these three guys are still friends and will be wheeling and dealing, but they are competitive by nature and nobody wants to come up with the short end of a trade or look bad relative to the other two. It is worth noting that all three teams will be in the same division competing for two playoff spots next season thanks to realignment.
Expect this to a be a very, very good thing for the Atlantic League as it takes another step toward hashing out its self-created problems.
New Southern Maryland manager Butch Hobson is expected to handle the player procurement for his team while the other BASA-run team, Bridgeport, has a new general manager but still no clue who will do player procurement.
Before you start using negativity, remember BASA was not all bad. It saved teams lots of money on worker's compensation and was effective in business operations of minor-league baseball.
But the on-field aspect of BASA -- which handled player acquisitions for half the league last season -- is what drew ire from fans, writers and coaches alike this season, and that effectively ended last month when the leaders of BASA went their separate ways.
Adam Gladstone will now handle such responsibilities for the York Revolution, David Keller for the Camden Riversharks and Keith Lupton for the Lancaster Barnstormers.
It should be the end of shady trades, loading up one team for a playoff run while weakening another, on and on, so forth and so forth.
Sure, these three guys are still friends and will be wheeling and dealing, but they are competitive by nature and nobody wants to come up with the short end of a trade or look bad relative to the other two. It is worth noting that all three teams will be in the same division competing for two playoff spots next season thanks to realignment.
Expect this to a be a very, very good thing for the Atlantic League as it takes another step toward hashing out its self-created problems.
New Southern Maryland manager Butch Hobson is expected to handle the player procurement for his team while the other BASA-run team, Bridgeport, has a new general manager but still no clue who will do player procurement.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Managerial moves
Finally, something for me to write about as we transition from my summer job covering the Atlantic League to my winter job covering high school girls basketball.
The Lancaster Barnstormers hired former Philadelphia Phillie Von Hayes after an intense interview process that included high-profile candidates such as Gary Carter, Butch Hobson and Wally Backman. The part that truly is shocking to me is that Hayes got the job over Tom Herr, who managed the Barnstormers first-ever game and led them to the 2006 championship. I thought he was a lock to be rehired considering he is from the Lancaster area and is a known commodity to the fans.
“I can’t imagine a better place than Lancaster to manage in minor league baseball,” Hayes said. “The facilities and the organization are first class, and I am truly excited to be back in the Philly area. I’m looking forward to working with the veteran professionals in the Atlantic League and giving them every opportunity to get back to Major League Baseball. Our coaches & players will be as committed to winning as our front office for our loyal fans whose support and enthusiasm I have heard so much about.”
Hayes has been a Manager of the Year at Single-A and Double-A.
Unlike the other passed over candidates, Hobson's interview did not go totally fruitless. He landed the managerial position with the expansion Southern Maryland Blue Crabs after eight seasons at the helm of the Nashua Pride. The Pride won the 2000 Atlantic League title and returned to the championship series twice more after that prior to their 2006 departure for the independent Can-Am League.
Hobson spent eight years in the majors as a player and is the only Atlantic League manager with past major-league managing experience, having made a name for himself with the Boston Red Sox from 1992-94. During his first Atlantic League stint, he often was called the best tactical manager, a title which irks his friend and rival, Sparky Lyle.
The Blue Crabs also interviewed Carter, Backman, Cecil Fielder and Ryan Minor.
What is interesting about this hire is that it was widely assumed for years Minor was going to get this job. He spent on a season on the road as a coach with the Road Warriors and then another in the league preparing to be a manager. It sounds like he got a raw deal.
Also worth mentioning: Nashua is eight hours from Southern Maryland. I've made the joke several times that if the Pride had not left the league, the Atlantic League would have its first plane-worthy road trip. I guess Hobson has to move.
The Lancaster Barnstormers hired former Philadelphia Phillie Von Hayes after an intense interview process that included high-profile candidates such as Gary Carter, Butch Hobson and Wally Backman. The part that truly is shocking to me is that Hayes got the job over Tom Herr, who managed the Barnstormers first-ever game and led them to the 2006 championship. I thought he was a lock to be rehired considering he is from the Lancaster area and is a known commodity to the fans.
“I can’t imagine a better place than Lancaster to manage in minor league baseball,” Hayes said. “The facilities and the organization are first class, and I am truly excited to be back in the Philly area. I’m looking forward to working with the veteran professionals in the Atlantic League and giving them every opportunity to get back to Major League Baseball. Our coaches & players will be as committed to winning as our front office for our loyal fans whose support and enthusiasm I have heard so much about.”
Hayes has been a Manager of the Year at Single-A and Double-A.
Unlike the other passed over candidates, Hobson's interview did not go totally fruitless. He landed the managerial position with the expansion Southern Maryland Blue Crabs after eight seasons at the helm of the Nashua Pride. The Pride won the 2000 Atlantic League title and returned to the championship series twice more after that prior to their 2006 departure for the independent Can-Am League.
Hobson spent eight years in the majors as a player and is the only Atlantic League manager with past major-league managing experience, having made a name for himself with the Boston Red Sox from 1992-94. During his first Atlantic League stint, he often was called the best tactical manager, a title which irks his friend and rival, Sparky Lyle.
The Blue Crabs also interviewed Carter, Backman, Cecil Fielder and Ryan Minor.
What is interesting about this hire is that it was widely assumed for years Minor was going to get this job. He spent on a season on the road as a coach with the Road Warriors and then another in the league preparing to be a manager. It sounds like he got a raw deal.
Also worth mentioning: Nashua is eight hours from Southern Maryland. I've made the joke several times that if the Pride had not left the league, the Atlantic League would have its first plane-worthy road trip. I guess Hobson has to move.
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