NECBL All Stars Announced
June 22, 2011 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Danbury Westerners News Release
On Wednesday, the Commissioner of the NECBL Mario Tiani announced the participants in the NECBL verses Team USA All Star Game to take place at Fenway Park in Boston next Monday at 12:00 Noon.
Dave Ciocchi (Binghamton) and Mike Ford (Princeton) were named to the NECBL squad and Jamie Shevchik (Keystone) was named Head Coach for the NECBL team. The Westerners coaching staff has been invited to join Jamie in the home team (Red Sox) dugout.
Watch the game live on Teamline.
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VIEW FROM THE BENCH
John W. (Jack) Deering
Well here we are two games into the 2011 season starting with two wins and obviously no losses. Both wins came in the eighth inning as far as the scoring goes. But the first game was won during the middle innings with fielding. Yes, fielding. More often than not during interviews with the pitcher of record when he gives up a home run or a hit that scores the winning run "I through a bad pitch". What about giving the hitter Tyler Horan, credit that he hit a good pitch and it was gone when he hit it. But moreover what about our outfielders' They have been quite good with going back to the fence and catching the ball along with diving and making a back handed catch. But most of all, making a perfect throw to home plate to nail the runner trying to score from second on a single. Yes, our outfield of Tanner Krietemeier, Andrew Garner, Kyle Richardson, Tyler Horan and Dane Opel will be noticed during the balance of the season with them patrolling the outfield and holding runners at bay from scoring.
Fielding is a major part of the game of baseball, along with hitting, pitching, running, throwing, paying attention to the game and most of all total preparation to play the game. Somehow during the past one hundred twenty five years of baseball there is always the saying "he can't hit". There has always been a focus on those who can't hit. Well what about those who can hit but can't field' Can you make better fielders with those who can hit' And can you make better hitters with those who excel in fielding' The answer is yes. How can this be accomplished' This transition can be accomplished with no pressure. Yes, no pressure, as pressure takes away from concentration and confidence that the hitter can become a good fielder and that the excellent fielder can be a better hitter.
There are eight position players and when choosing the starting lineup you will need to have balance in the lineup. What does the term "up the middle" mean' It means that it is the backbone of defense in baseball with the catcher, shortstop and centerfielder. When you have high quality in those three positions, the chances are that you will win most of your games. That obviously does not take away the importance of third, second and first base. Third base being the hot corner can also ice you if you're not prepared to charge a bunt or slow ground ball and throw on the run. Second base is the pivot and making a strong accurate throw to first base as well as charging a slow ground ball and throwing out the runner. The most proficient at that is Robinson Cano of the Yankees. Robinson has the strongest and most accurate arm for second baseman in baseball. Like our outfield we have an infield and three catchers they are David Ciocchi, Chris Waylock, Kyle Convissar, Anthony Hajjar, Alex Ramsay, Chad Morgan and Steve Swingle.
The long and short of this article is that I want to bring forward the importance of fielding and throwing to the right base or home plate. The game will always be remembered for Tyler Horan's home run, not the catches that Andrew Garner, Tanner Kretemeier made or the perfect throw to home plate that Kyle Richardson made to prevent the runner from scoring. It is my view from the bench that we have a team that is here to play and win. Until next month and for the "love of the game", I hope to see you at Rogers Park for a Westerners game and I am always available through e-mail.
Jack Deering is Outfield and Bench Coach for the Danbury Westerners, jwdeering@snet.net
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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 22, 2011
- NECBL All Stars Announced - Danbury Westerners
- Team NECBL Selections Announced for Team USA Game - NECBL
- SteepleCats still in search of team identity - North Adams SteepleCats
- Vermont's Johnson Named to Team NECBL - Vermont Mountaineers
- Wednesday Night's Navigators Game Postponed; Make-Up Date Set For July 13 - North Shore Navigators
- Game Cancelled Tonight - Valley Blue Sox
- Steeplecats Lose 8th Straight - North Adams SteepleCats
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