2013 Discussion

Rather than continuing in the preseason topic - I should have just created a new topic.

In any case, like I noted in the preseason discussion at some point - rain is going to play a big factor this year. From what I hear Dover is travelling back down to Holman tomorrow night (Sat 4/13) for a 7PM start vs. BG as long as the field is playable. I have to imagine Dover is itching to get their season started.

Biggest (good) surprise so far in D1 - Spaulding is 3-0 beating Timberlane, Keene, and Londonderry

BG beat Dover 3-1 on Saturday night at Holman. BG threw Lunn and Lupi threw some lefty - not Lupi. Lunn looked good; Lupi came in for an inning and was tagged for 2 runs, curve wasnt working and fastball was flat. The home plate umpire was terrible, zero consistency and seemed lost behind the plate, it was that bad.

Here is Today's Schedule:

Alvirne @ Spaulding
Salem @ Bedford
Keene @ BG
Exeter @ Central
Merrimack @ South
Winny @ North
Pinkerton @ Timberlane
Londonderry @ Concord
Trinity @ Dover

So That wasn't Lupi? I drove by on my way out and stopped in the parking lot and watched for 10 minutes. Saw Lunn throw a half-inning, and whom I believed to be Lupi, throw a batter. Guess my eyes are not as good as they once were.

According to what I found on Fosters (there's a link on the main page):

"The Dover High School baseball team fell to Bishop Guertin, 3-1, in its Division I opener Saturday.Robbie Sheldon started and went four innings, allowing one earned run on four hits with three strikeouts and a walk. Anthony Lupi took the loss in relief."

I agree with baseball4ever, they sure looked a lot alike - both were lefty's :-) and really had similar builds.

In any case, I thought it was a good game - Dover got a lot of singles off Jeff, but really couldn't capitalize on their situations. I think they loaded the bases twice - the second time leading to some interesting action around the plate... Once Jeff was pulled after 4 innings, the two BG relievers did their job. BG had a couple of timely hits and hard contact on all three Dover pitchers - there were a couple of loud and hard outs. The Dover side had one leather-lunged parent keeping me amused...

I see the impressive run Spaulding is on but I have to say this, that record is decieving. They don't have the pitching to keep it up and there isn't a legitimate top of the line hitter in the line up. BUT you do have to tip the cap to such an impressive run.
I haven't seen them play but I am hearing that Concord also has a deceptive record. I will try to get out to see them so I can judge for myself. I like that left hander they have but they did lose a lot more than they could replace.

I saw a fantastic pitching duel and a well-played game yesterday in Hampton as Winnicunnet beat Salem 3-2 in 8 innings. Connor MacHardy from Winni went 7, striking out 13 and giving up 3 hits. Dan Morin was equally great for Salem going 8 and striking out 7 while giving up 10 hits and taking the loss. Morin's curve kept Winni off balance all game and was impressive, had never seen him before. McHardy struck out the side in the 1, 3 & 5 and hit the walkoff single. Tough loss for either team, much needed win for WHS after losing first 2 on the road.

At this point in the early season I have watched 10 games (for the most part, left early for a few of them). I have to say there is no clear-cut top team or teams. Looking at the standings I saw Concord and think it is smoke and mirrors, unless Partridge is on the mound but their offense is all singles hitters. I've made my Spaulding feelings known already. North and BG are quality clubs, but neither possess a top-flight offense. BG's pitching is flat out ugly after Lunn and Morais. North's defense is missing Coach Henderson's guidance. Londonderry can't seem to figure out what they are going to be. Alvirne has no pitching at all past Brown. Merrimack is also thin past Wojo and have no offense to speak of. Trinity is just plain horrible in the field, while they have Giampatruzzi, Currier is an average D1 pitcher. The bottom line is that the years with a dominant team are gone. I'd like to see someone step up and take the mantle, but at the same time it is exciting to know that there are 8-10 teams that can win this thing!

BGs pitching after morais and lunn is ugly? Really? What do you call a 1 hitter vs. Chelmsford, ma? BG has played two 4 game weeks in a row. And did so without many innings from morais who struggled against Keene and was sick against alvirne. So he's pitched about 3 innings in the last 8 games. Lots of solid contributions from 3 juniors. Of course that's how I see it with my slightly green and gold tinted glasses

I have to agree with JAF on this one. I am a little slighted to the BG cause, but I like to think I'm also objective. BG to my knowledge has used at least 4 pitchers besides Morais and Lunn, and I dont think they have let up more than 6 EARNED runs. I would even compare Ferlan, DiPasquale (deliver from what I've seen), and Williams are better than at half of the Division 1 teams #2s. BG's problem is sustainable offense, but that speaks to the quality of all of Division 1. Their is no powerhouse.....yet. With the warm weather arriving, some teams will begin to wake up and turn on the afterburners. I would say in the next week and a half we will know who the "powerhouses" are in Division 1.

I usually don't come over into the HS baseball diamond too much, but after seeing Londonderry scored 23 runs against North yesterday in the 4th inning, I had to put on my verbal cleats:

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20130430/SPORTS21/130439960

I don't take much away from yesterday's North vs Londonderry D1 batting practice. It HAPPENS! Anyone that's been around the game long enough knows that yesterday is an aberration for Londonderrys' bats, not an indictment of North's pitching. I'd wager a cold, adult beverage that yesterday, Londonderry, probably could have squared up grains of rice coming at them, sending them all over the field "where nobody was standing". Hitting is infectious and sometimes when a team is on, all you can do is pray for the "clap of thunder". Again, I know much of the North pitching staff and would be happy to count them as members of my squad....I wouldn't make too much out of yesterday.

Let me get this straight. You mean to tell me that a varsity team in a division 1 contest, against a quality pitching staff, collected 20 hits in 4 at-bats is best described as an "aberration"? Will any team do that again, not likely. But when it does happen what's wrong with just giving them a tip of the cap rather then make statements about how lucky they are? I would have LOVED to see something like that, I don't care which team won or lost just to see something like that at this level would be interesting to watch. IMHO

NH ball9...No knock against Londonderry for their offensive performance, indeed, I tip my cap to them. My observations are not be a knock against either squad as I believe that sometimes good pitching simply gets hit, and hit hard! Good for the team that squares the ball up so many at bats with so many players. I simply point out that the whole experience probably doesn't amount to much, for either team, as to each team's performance for the balance of their seasons.

I think the most interesting stat from the game was in that fateful 4th inning, the same spot in the order made all 3 outs. Statistically speaking what are the odds that would happen? With 28 batters in the inning that spot was up first (a strikeout) and last (a popup). There's a picture of the scorebook floating around twitter and it was posted on the high school baseball web site. In the same stream over there it was noted that the first out was made by a pitch hitter, but it wasn't recorded in the book. I'll have to assume that someone was there.

See: http://community.hsbaseballweb.com/topic/2013-season?page=3

The starting pitcher in the game had been a fairly effective #3 pitcher - collecting wins in relief and starts... The pitchers that followed him were not the #1 (unavailable since he pitched Friday) and the #2 (probably saving for the next game). HS hitters are going to (or should) hit against the "next level" of pitching any team has. The reality is the adage of walks kill rang true as 15 of the 46 at bats were walks... Kind of forces you to "throw strikes". Also one book may have called it 20 hits while the other called it 15 hits and 5 errors...

I also believe it's a game I think you chalk up to "stuff" happens. Truly a trap game between winning the previous game against Concord (who was undefeated at the time) and looking forward to the next game vs. South (the rivalry game).

The newspaper stated Londonderry's incredible 28 batter inning was a dozen hits, 7 base on balls, 1 hit batsman, 5 errors....something like that.

When Justgivemethefacts stated it was an aberration, I didn't take it as a knock on Londonderry, I didn't feel that he was calling them lucky. Many things probably contributed to that inning, and I wonder how long has it been since an inning like that happened and how long will it be before it happens again.

In regards to nhbll9 criticisms of D1 a few posts back, I DO agree that it is wide open this year, and I'm not that versed to recall which seed has won the past 7 NHIAA D1 championships, but here they are. 14 teams involved in 7 championships. 3 teams represented twice. Concord, Merrimack, and Salem. No one with more than one championship. Seems historically, things have been wide-open since 2006. 2013 looks the same.

Anyone remember the seeds?
2012 Concord beats Merrimack
2011 North beats Concord
2010 Londonderry beats Salem
2009 Keene beats Alvirne
2008 Goffstown beats Salem
2007 Merrimack beats Trinity
2006 Memorial beats Guertin

1. Concord currently #2...I really don't care if they are "all singles hitters" as suggested. Wins are nice. Defending Champions. Only team that has been to two consecutive championship games the last 7 years. Winning breeds winning.
2. Not a real fan of Spaulding? I have not seen them yet, but they are on top at 7 wins and 2 losses.
3. BG has "no pitching after Lunn and Morais?????" I'm not sure that I agree. Even though 2 is all you need, I have seen Williams and Ferlan throw. They are decent.
4. "North's defense needs Henderson?" I have not seen them this year, I do know they beat Bedford, Concord and Spaulding, giving up only 7 runs.
5. Merrimack has no offense? They average better than 5 runs per game. And have one of the top hitters in the state.
6. Trinity is just G? They have lost 4 games by a total of 7 runs. 3 of those (I will drop the disappointing 3-run loss to Central) v Concord, Bedford, and Spaulding, by a total of 4 runs. There has to be a few more supporting players there.

That's 6 teams that I believe are capable of winning it all. I'm positive we can add another 5 more starting with Londonderry, Alvirne, and Bedford. Londonderry has a true ace, and while Bedford does not, they still are streaking. Brown has been very good for Alvirne.

I think the final teams may need 3 pitchers... Unlike the last few years (ever since games are at Fishercat Stadium) this year's playoffs will be just 2 weeks long. While there is no longer a playoff max of 15 innings pitched, the 9 per game and 15 per week still stands. With games Thu/Sat/Wed/Sat not only with the innings count come into play, but rest rules will too. Sure you could go 1-2 and 1-2 hoping each gets 7 innings (or less), but the likelihood of that is small. Oh and it *never* rains in early June does it? And we've never had extra inning games in playoffs...

Interesting that this year a group of D1 coaches tried to get a best of 3 format instituted for the first round thus avoiding the lower seed upsets where some #1 was better than the #1 of the upper seed. Their attempt failed, but I think we can all see why it can be so important. History suggests the best/deepest teams make to the final pairing; however, there's always an upset or two in round 1. This year I suspect there will be more round1 "upsets". Perhaps they should have pushed for was a format whereby the top seeds got a first round bye, perhaps even putting "everyone" into the playoff format giving the top 3 seeds a bye. Or eliminating 13+ and going with top 4 get byes while 5-12 battle it out.

I saw Concord doing the little things... Bunting, hitting the other way, getting on base - come playoff time - that's a formula for success. Not everyone needs to hit a homerun or double - just get your bat on the ball where the defense isn't playing. I saw my sons college team score 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th all on singles, except the last run which was a sacfly. Only a couple were hard hit, but they others "found a way"... On the negative - the pitching depth will be tested... I doubt they'll ever make the same 1st/3rd mistake they did against North essentially allowing the winning run to score uncontested.

Spaulding - I still have no idea where they'll fall... If their early season wins were due mostly to last at bat heroics, then I doubt that continues. Pitchers become better at going longer as the season progresses. Who wants to throw their #1 100+ pitches in April and if they do, then probably he's tired and you get what you got.

BG needs more offensive consistency throughout the lineup. There's been a lot of tweaks to the lineup to find the right formula, so I'm cautiously optimistic about the next 10 games. A couple of hitters started of ice cold, but they've picked it up in the last couple of games. There's a lot of "moving parts". I think they have the most pitching depth, but I'm jaded.

Londonderry will be right up there. Their losses are all by just 1 run. They too have pitching depth, although I'm less sure about #4 and beyond. They always compete year after year and as a group have played a lot of "postseason" ball between NHIAA, summer, and fall baseball.

Merrimack I haven't seen yet, but two 1-run losses mean they're playing good baseball and have pitching beyond Wojciak. Obviously they can hit and they have good chemistry. The group has played together a long time like Londonderry.

Trinity will go as far as #1 and #2 carry them without allowing the other team to hit the ball. It's been pointed out that their defense has caused them games.

North should recover from the Londonderry aberration - it'll be a launching point or they'll fall off the cliff. Offensively, they are going to rely on small ball to score as evidenced by trying the suicide squeeze twice against Concord. One partial success because the pitcher threw a slider that made it to the backstop, but the failure was a double play on the bases.

Bedford might just be catching teams "at the right point" in their schedule... The Concord win was in 11 innings... Not sure Partridge started since the Concord Monitor article mentions him pitching in the 9th and another reliever going 4 2/3.

Exeter might surprise teams, but who knows - they've had a couple of clunkers to go along with a few gems. If their #1 is hurting, then that will limit how far they go.

South seems to be up and down - I think they're better than I expected, but can it translate throughout the whole season. Pitchers just have to adjust to how the batters are attacking them. Against BG, they were going after first pitch a lot and hitting it. Make the adjustment as a pitcher and see how the batters change things up...

Alvirne and Timberlane each have a #1 that could upset a top seed. Alvirne seems to get a hot start and then hold on for dear life throughout the game.

Winni, Keene, Dover, Pinkerton, and Salem seem to be the other playoff contenders. Memorial beat BG, but there were a ton of errors in that game. Central beat Trinity, but I recall reading a similar sentiment from the Trinity faithful regarding errors.

Keene is on a hot streak winning 3 in a row. I caught a game vs alvirne and you'd think it was the football team out there because Parenteau and Luopa have been the key to their run. Luopa is a great base hit hitter while Parenteau is batting over .500 with a homer too. They don't have an ace but they have some good pitchers in Bianco and Blanchard. Look for this team to continue their run.

Keene has 3 out of next 4 at home. That will tell a bit more about their team. @ Concord, Dover, Trinity, and Merrimack. Some tests. Their wins, including recent ones, a win over Alvirne, a win at Memorial, and a win last night against Pinkerton have been mostly big. Their 5 losses, by a 10 run total, are interesting.

It will be a week to see if dragonfire is right.

Carmen Giampetruzzi throws 131 unofficial pitches over 5 2/3 innings in Trinity's loss to Alvrine? Holy ice bag! Heard Dave Keefe is worried about Carmen's jumper after that big number.

Been away for work and just got caught up on the forum. A lot of good stuff! I'm surprised about Keene considering what they did early on, but keep it going! I see Londonderry might not be an "aberration" with two low-scoring wins. BG had a good week too, I'm curious about what happened in the Andover game. I talked to a Mass friend and he said Andover wasn't all that special yet they have beaten all the NH teams they have faced. I thought BG would have the best shot at beating them though.
What is happening at Trinity? If it is true about the 130 pitches then I have to believe there are more factors than we know about. I also think those have to be extreme factors to put a pitcher through that in the Spring.
Just about at the halfway point and this thing is still wide open!

BG lost to Andover on a groundball hit down the 3rd base line (should have been fielded) and then miss played by the left fielder. That is what I have heard through the grapevine. I should temper what I said with the fact that the game was in the bottom of the 9th. Lunn pitched and looked great from what I heard. BG lost 5-4 in 9.

Keene is starting to turn it on should be interesting to see what they can do. Bedford is the other team to watch, some would say they are an aberration, but I believe they are a real threat come tourney time.

On the catcher front, the best catchers in the state that I have seen are Fortin, Hauze, and LaLonde/Gasper. Fortin and Hauze are just complete catchers. LaLonde seems to be solid but has a so so arm. Gasper is good, but seems top have a slow pop time (slow feet and hands), but makes up for it with his arm. BG seems to be going catcher by committee I have heard they have used 4 different catchers, I have only seen Scanlon and Nowak, I believe those are their names.

Seems as though the catcher and outfield positions are where the best all-around players in the state are this season. Thoughts?

Observer,

With all the respect I have, you must have missed Morais' gem and the BG 3-0 victory over Merrimack if you think Gasper has slow feet and hands. I would say other than Fortin, he has the best pop-times in the state. And he is only a junior. I still remember the release and throw vs. Concord during the State Championship last year. Might have been even better than the one against BG Thursday night. Lalonde a "so so arm"? I'm not sure I can agree with that assessment either. To me he has a strong arm, but perhaps a slightly slower pop time than the other two. Hauze has a good arm from what I've seen. He kind of looked lazy to me, then bam!

According to the Perfect Game, a scouting website where info about High School players can be located, Matt Fortin is ranked the #1 catcher in the class of 2013 and the #4 player in NH of his class (he's behind two D2 pitchers Barss and Doyle and a of from Phillips Exeter Academy), but no recorded times from a Perfect Game Showcase. I have heard he is sub 1.9. He has probably only been seen at a PG tourney. I guess they don't take times there. And he's committed to Seton Hall.
Gasper is listed, 1.91, 69 mph plate, 80 mph outfield by PG. On Class of 2014 lists of best pop times in the country at a Perfect Game event last summer, he is tied for the 11th best with that 1.91.
Laonde listed but no numbers or rankings. He is committed to to St. Bonaventure.

All around players catcher and outfield? I'd say that's accurate. But Exeter's short stop Joyce has to be ranked high. BG's Lunn at 1st has been swinging the bat every time that I see him.

<<Carmen Giampetruzzi throws 131 unofficial pitches over 5 2/3 innings in Trinity's loss to Alvrine? Holy ice bag! Heard Dave Keefe is worried about Carmen's jumper after that big number.>>

If this is true its disgusting. Yet not surprising. It seems like we see this stuff at least once a week. The number one job of a high school coach is well-being of their players. Not how many wins they can accumulate or records they can break. This kid is 18 and his coach thinks it's okay for him to throw 131 pitches? This is the same guy that had him throw over 100 in the FIRST GAME OF THE SEASON. Great! Not sure where Carmen is going to college but I'm sure his future coach is just thrilled that the kid is being used like this. He's not alone. The Londonderry coach lets his ace, Ryan Moloney sit for a ridiculous amount of time TWICE during two long innings, once for more than an HOUR... for what? To hold a 30 run lead?

In defense of these coaches, they are teachers first and coaches second. I'm guessing that they just don't know any better. Honestly, I'm not trying to be disrespectful to all high school coaches, but I would love to know what the thinking is when these types of decisions are made. I just don't want to see these kids hurt their chances for the much bigger opportunities they have in front of them due to the decisions of people that just aren't qualified to make them.

According to a web-site that has high school game stats, 131 was the count. G is a stud already committed to BC, and I'm kinda sure no one in Eagle land would like to see that number.

BG had quite a few "missed opportunities" to break open a close game, but the Andover lefty got the outs when he needed them. BG held a 3-0 lead at one point, but errors were costly allowing Andover to tie the game. BG had a runner on 2nd and tried to bunt - the lefty pitcher fields it and throws to 3rd getting the runner according to the umpire... That ends up being huge as the next batter muscled the ball to the outfield, but then the pitcher got out of the jam. There was a bases loaded jam with 1 out and the #3 and #4 batters coming up, but the pitcher got them out. In the 9th BG got a 1st/3rd when the Andover first baseman for some reason went to play behind the runner - I thought wow they're giving us 2nd base. No sooner did that thought cross my mind when the pitcher spun and turned to find no one home when the next words crossed my lips - balk! With a 1 run lead going to the bottom and the top of the Andover order up, BG just couldn't put it away. The top of the Andover order were pretty consistent all day long and they got their runs across.

It was a good game - both teams played hard and made pitches when necessary, but as usual it comes down to which made the plays in the field. On Friday it was Andover, much like Thu when it was BG against Merrimack. Gotta look forward to next week with TImby, Central, and Pinky coming up - cannot have any sort of let down as the standings are packed at the top. The 1-1 record vs. MA teams can help and hurt - without it, they're 7-3 tied for 2nd with two teams they still have to play and the one team at 8-3 they've already beat. With it they may get an extra .2 points (4/20) that might put them above some other team if seedings are done by points/rating.