Now the second season begins. The teams that have made their final push come out in the playoff bracket. They have gotten their squads together for the big show. Every game counts for or against the teams playing in the postseason. The bracket fairs as such:
#8 Clippers (5 – 9) vs #1 Raging Bulls (11 – 3)
No bigger surprise has come out of this season than a team as talented as the Clippers finishing in the 8 slot. With Steve Chodan doing his typical multi-faceted weekly performance (.292 9HRs 25RBIs 92Ks 46IP), Bill Chodan coming up consistently when called up (.273 5HR 22RBIs), and Vinny Burns returning strong (6HR 34Ks 19IP), the Clippers appear to be capable of winning a huge opening quarter final game despite the opponent. They will head to Murray Street Middle School Saturday morning to take on the Raging Bulls. In contrast to the Clippers, nary were surprised the Bulls finished first as they sport the pitching/hitting combination of Jim Wendling (.389 14HR 29RBIs 5 – 2 2.56ERA 78Ks) and Joe Annoscia (.267 14HR 27RBIs 5 – 1 0.76ERA 122Ks). Also, returning was Anthony Pogioreale, who tied Dave Luongo with 5HRs to add some extra punch to the lineup. Alongside them is Artie Von Weigand who hit .372 for his squad, rounding out a tremendous offense. This can be one of the hardest to call matchups this weekend despite the standings. What is for certain, this quarterfinal game will be extremely entertaining.
#7 Shadyville Sluggers (5 – 9) vs #2 Pelham Village Wine (10 – 4)
Shadyville appeared to be taking over the middle seeds but faltered a bit in their final two weeks. Jay Nestrosio finished at .261 with 4HRs while Miguel Cabezas and Kevin Renzo tied him in long balls, hitting 4 each. Their ace in the hole, Marvin Rosario, is always a frightening prospect as he hit .333 with 3 homeruns and 3 wins, a 1.06 ERA, and struck out 88 batters. Add Kevin’s 2 wins and the Sluggers appear poised for another deep run in the playoffs. They will face the Pelham Village Wine Saturday morning at JHS 074 in Queens. AJ Romano got the squad together and they are now seeking retribution for their Summer finish. With Randy Belfiore (3 – 1 0.50ERA 70Ks), Greg MacKoul (4 – 1 2.43ERA 56Ks), and even AJ himself (3 wins), they have the arms to beat anyone. Their offense was powered by Randy (.408 5HR 24RBIs) and Greg (.362 6HR 27RBIs) as well as AJ’s .254 average and Joe Battaglia’s 6HR to give them four not many can contend with. How this plays out can come down to who shows on the field and how they show up in the end.
#6 Tornadoes (6 – 10) vs #3 Frozen Ropes (10 – 4)
Both these teams finished well their last two games which propelled both of them to be where they are. After his final week, sudden death performance, Steve Tomasik (.325 12HR 25RBIs) helped put his squad where they are now. They flex their muscles with line up mates Evan Rivels (.291 7HR 18RBIs), Steve Dachtera (8HR 26RBIs) and Joe LaMicela (.255 7HR 27RBIs). On the rectangle, Sandy did her work as she went 5 – 0 with a 4.82ERA. They will need all that hitting and pitching when they face the defending champion Frozen Ropes Saturday morning at Electric Playground. Talk the Ropes, and Steve Yurchak’s name immediately comes up. With the season he had (.389 22HR 58RBIs 5 – 2 2.74ERA 79Ks), there’s good reason for that. Along with him were Kyle Lucas, who hit 7HRs, Anthony and Tim Yurchak, who each had 3 homeruns and well – pitched seasons: Anthony (2 – 2 2.59ERA 51Ks); Tim (2 – 0 1.40ERA 38Ks). They look ready to win a second crown this year but the Tornadoes are more than a simple opening round game. There could be a huge back-and-forth during this quarterfinal match both with hitting and pitching.
#5 Whitestone Aces (6 – 8)vs #4 Shut’Em Down (7 – 7)
The Aces seemed confident to finish at a much better record but stumbled their last week of the season. Offensively, Bhishmi Robinson was their cornerstone (.368 5HR 16RBIs). Daragh Quinn was right behind in the power categories (4HR 10RBIs) and John Quinn and Carmine DeStefano each finished with 3 homeruns to give the Aces that late inning pop to win close games. Boasting both Bhishmi (3 wins 1.95ERA 85Ks) and John (2 wins 4.50ERA 75Ks), the Aces feel they are in good position to win. They face a tough group in the Shut’Em Down Saturday morning at Albert Leonard Middle School. Though they finished harshly, the Shut’Em Down were still among the elite 3 throughout most of the season. A lot of that had to do with the hitting of Pedro Maldonado (.344 7HR 15RBIs), Fabrizio Peralta (.261 5HR 26RBIs), and Gustavo Martinez (.250 4HR). With the arms of Randy Rhyne (2 Wins 3.29ERA) and Mike Walsh (3 Wins 4.54ERA) matched with Gustavo’s 2 wins, they have a chance to beat anyone. These two sides don’t have much history against one another in the playoffs and haven’t seen each other all season. This game will be one to watch out for moving forward in the playoff bracket.
#8 Clippers (5 – 9) vs #1 Raging Bulls (11 – 3)
No bigger surprise has come out of this season than a team as talented as the Clippers finishing in the 8 slot. With Steve Chodan doing his typical multi-faceted weekly performance (.292 9HRs 25RBIs 92Ks 46IP), Bill Chodan coming up consistently when called up (.273 5HR 22RBIs), and Vinny Burns returning strong (6HR 34Ks 19IP), the Clippers appear to be capable of winning a huge opening quarter final game despite the opponent. They will head to Murray Street Middle School Saturday morning to take on the Raging Bulls. In contrast to the Clippers, nary were surprised the Bulls finished first as they sport the pitching/hitting combination of Jim Wendling (.389 14HR 29RBIs 5 – 2 2.56ERA 78Ks) and Joe Annoscia (.267 14HR 27RBIs 5 – 1 0.76ERA 122Ks). Also, returning was Anthony Pogioreale, who tied Dave Luongo with 5HRs to add some extra punch to the lineup. Alongside them is Artie Von Weigand who hit .372 for his squad, rounding out a tremendous offense. This can be one of the hardest to call matchups this weekend despite the standings. What is for certain, this quarterfinal game will be extremely entertaining.
#7 Shadyville Sluggers (5 – 9) vs #2 Pelham Village Wine (10 – 4)
Shadyville appeared to be taking over the middle seeds but faltered a bit in their final two weeks. Jay Nestrosio finished at .261 with 4HRs while Miguel Cabezas and Kevin Renzo tied him in long balls, hitting 4 each. Their ace in the hole, Marvin Rosario, is always a frightening prospect as he hit .333 with 3 homeruns and 3 wins, a 1.06 ERA, and struck out 88 batters. Add Kevin’s 2 wins and the Sluggers appear poised for another deep run in the playoffs. They will face the Pelham Village Wine Saturday morning at JHS 074 in Queens. AJ Romano got the squad together and they are now seeking retribution for their Summer finish. With Randy Belfiore (3 – 1 0.50ERA 70Ks), Greg MacKoul (4 – 1 2.43ERA 56Ks), and even AJ himself (3 wins), they have the arms to beat anyone. Their offense was powered by Randy (.408 5HR 24RBIs) and Greg (.362 6HR 27RBIs) as well as AJ’s .254 average and Joe Battaglia’s 6HR to give them four not many can contend with. How this plays out can come down to who shows on the field and how they show up in the end.
#6 Tornadoes (6 – 10) vs #3 Frozen Ropes (10 – 4)
Both these teams finished well their last two games which propelled both of them to be where they are. After his final week, sudden death performance, Steve Tomasik (.325 12HR 25RBIs) helped put his squad where they are now. They flex their muscles with line up mates Evan Rivels (.291 7HR 18RBIs), Steve Dachtera (8HR 26RBIs) and Joe LaMicela (.255 7HR 27RBIs). On the rectangle, Sandy did her work as she went 5 – 0 with a 4.82ERA. They will need all that hitting and pitching when they face the defending champion Frozen Ropes Saturday morning at Electric Playground. Talk the Ropes, and Steve Yurchak’s name immediately comes up. With the season he had (.389 22HR 58RBIs 5 – 2 2.74ERA 79Ks), there’s good reason for that. Along with him were Kyle Lucas, who hit 7HRs, Anthony and Tim Yurchak, who each had 3 homeruns and well – pitched seasons: Anthony (2 – 2 2.59ERA 51Ks); Tim (2 – 0 1.40ERA 38Ks). They look ready to win a second crown this year but the Tornadoes are more than a simple opening round game. There could be a huge back-and-forth during this quarterfinal match both with hitting and pitching.
#5 Whitestone Aces (6 – 8)vs #4 Shut’Em Down (7 – 7)
The Aces seemed confident to finish at a much better record but stumbled their last week of the season. Offensively, Bhishmi Robinson was their cornerstone (.368 5HR 16RBIs). Daragh Quinn was right behind in the power categories (4HR 10RBIs) and John Quinn and Carmine DeStefano each finished with 3 homeruns to give the Aces that late inning pop to win close games. Boasting both Bhishmi (3 wins 1.95ERA 85Ks) and John (2 wins 4.50ERA 75Ks), the Aces feel they are in good position to win. They face a tough group in the Shut’Em Down Saturday morning at Albert Leonard Middle School. Though they finished harshly, the Shut’Em Down were still among the elite 3 throughout most of the season. A lot of that had to do with the hitting of Pedro Maldonado (.344 7HR 15RBIs), Fabrizio Peralta (.261 5HR 26RBIs), and Gustavo Martinez (.250 4HR). With the arms of Randy Rhyne (2 Wins 3.29ERA) and Mike Walsh (3 Wins 4.54ERA) matched with Gustavo’s 2 wins, they have a chance to beat anyone. These two sides don’t have much history against one another in the playoffs and haven’t seen each other all season. This game will be one to watch out for moving forward in the playoff bracket.