2013 Season

If you measure a pitcher by keeping the walks down, then sure Herlihy perhaps was better than Wojciak... If you measure a pitcher by number of strikeouts, then it's the other way. Tough call either way.  I personally prefer to not see so many walks. Put the ball in play, keep your defense on their toes and in the game.

Might be interesting to see the Pink book to see what they scored error or hit... I always roll my eyes when I see infield single now... My son's college scorer has a propensity to "err" on the side of the hitter regardless if he's home or away.  I cannot tell you how many times I see "infield single to SS" or "infield bunt single to 3b" in the official line score.  When I'm there watching - I see - error, error, error :-)

As for your question - I can tell you BG/South is at 7PM Wed at Holman.

It is all over the place for game times tomorrow! Here was what I was able to figure out:

Dover at Salem- 11 am

South at BG- 7 pm at Holman

Spaulding at North- 4 pm at Holman (I think, can't be sure)

Trinity at Central- 1 pm at Gill

Memorial at Bedford- 4 pm

A big game to watch tomorrow should be Pembroke vs Portsmouth. It looks like both team aces (Gates for Pembroke, Holt for Portsmouth) will be on the hill as two of the top tier DII teams battle tomorrow. Pembroke is 4-0 while Portsmouth is 3-1 and scoring 41 runs in their last three games since their defeat at Oyster River. It should be a good one!

I went to check out the "team of destiny" yesterday at Spaulding to see what their story is.  I guess they have won 5 of 6 in their last at-bat... tough way to make a living.  And it almost worked again vs. Winni as they were all but dead in a 6-0 bottom 6 game and scored 5 runs courtesy of some typical Winni defense.  Will they be a legitimate threat in the playoffs?  Personally I'm not so sure but winning 6 of 7 is a great start regardless.

The reason I was hoping stats were available was to get an idea of early all-state candidates.  We've heard good things about Lunn, Morais, Fortin, Joyce, Wojciak, Moloney, Cassidy, Carmen G, Partridge, LaLonde, McCarthy, etc. I know there are countless others which is precisely why I was hoping for some posted numbers.

When the coaches vote on all-state, the only information they have, is what other coaches tell them, and the one (or maybe two) times they see the kid play. And if your considering pitchers, most coaches are voting on a kid they didn't see at all.  It's not a perfect system, but there's just no other way to do it.  I don't envy the coaches.

Ironwill,

Thanks for the schedule.  Looks like a chance to see a couple of ball games, and the weather is starting to improve as well.

Seacoast,

I didn't realize until I read something this morning that Spaulding won 5 games in their last AB.  Cardiac kids. And they almost pulled it off again yesterday.  

What does the match-up look like Wednesday at North?

Mike I don't typically follow Spaulding so I don't know who they are throwing vs. North.  I will be watching to see if the losses start to mount for them, especially facing a quality team on the road. On the seacoast I will be curious to see how the Exeter/Alvirne game goes as both teams are capable of beating anyone depending on who is on the mound.  I understand MacHardy is going for Winni so assume the big lefty will have his way with Timberlane in Hampton.  St. Thomas and OR have a rematch in D2 that should be a quality game, STA winning the first meeting.

As Mike said, Im not sure I agree... Herlihy certain was more efficient thereby lasting longer, and put the ball in play for his defense, but gave up more hits and earned runs. Only 1 of Wojciak's  6BB resulted in an (unearned) run. 5 2/3 innings with 12K , 2H, 0ER is tough to argue with. The walks certainly increase his pitch count substantially and decrease his ability as far as going the entire game.

I understand the problems created by the free pass.  A pitcher and a team face a difficult task when the base on balls totals rise.....  Pitch count, pitch count under stress, more pressure on the defense.....nobody can consistently pitch around a base on balls....no matter what level of baseball we are talking about.  So if you are judging if Herlihy was more effective than Wojciak, I think you are going have a lot of room for discussion on both ends.  Those who favor pitching to contact have a point.

Suffice to say both pitched well enough to win...  This just proves why it's so hard to pick an "all star" team in baseball - the point of reference of the voter based on the style they prefer. Speed/strikeout vs. pitch to contact. I've see more velocity pitchers have trouble controlling location than the other way around. Some even have coaches that say - he throws really hard, but has no idea where it's going...  Pitch to contact pitchers have it tough because their "worth" is largely in the hands, gloves, feet, etc. of the 7 players behind them. Still waiting for the day I see a coach call time, walk out to his shortstop and ask him how he's feeling before lifting him for a relief shortstop because he's just made 3 errors in a row.  OTOH a pitcher walks 3 batters in a row and he could be done...

Agree with your's and Mike's last posts completely.

Here's the skinny on D1 today.  Please assist with start times.

Alvirne 3-2 @ Exeter 3-2.   An early season match-up which will prove important a month from now. 4:00 start?

Memorial 2-3 @ Bedford 3-2.  Winners of 3 straight, a solid Bedford team looks to stay in the conversation.  Memorial winners of 2 out of last 3, including upset of then undefeated BG. 4:00 start.

South 3-2 @ BG 4-2. BG has lost 2 out of 3, South 3 out of 4.   7:00 @Holman.  

Concord 5-0 @ Pinkerton 2-4. I'm thinking this will be a good one.

Trinity 4-3 @ Central 0-5.  Trinity, 3 losses by a total of 4 runs.  Central, a 5-4 loser @ Concord, have been outscored 33-4 in their other 4 games.  Will the real green please stand up.  1:00 @ Gill.

Spaulding 6-1 @ North 4-3.  Interesting game.  Fans will learn a lot about both teams.  4:00 Holman?????

Timberlane 1-6 @ Winny 2-2.  Can Timberlane turn it around (outscored  25-6 last three after opening the season losing 3 of 1st four by one run) against a team that has been in every game and is coming off a one-run victory @ Spaulding?

Dover 1-5 @ Salem 3-3. Salem has put up big #s in their 3 wins averaging 10 runs per game.  Averaging 3 rpg in their losses.  Dover Averaging 1.4 rpg in their 5 losses, but don't go to sleep on them.  Is Lupi on the hill?  11:00 start.

IMHO the game of the day is Portsmouth at Pembroke...Pembroke trying to remain perfect on the season against Big Rick Holt and the Portsmouth bats!  Should be a good test for PA!

does anyone know what time the portsmouth/pembroke game is at today?

4:00 first pitch at PA

FYI- I never said out pitched, I said Wojciak pitched well & IMHO Herlihy pitched a little better. To say the walks increased his pitch count & substantially decreased his ability to pitch further into the game is not exactly an argument I would use in his defense. Not that he needs defending as IMHO he pitched well. Im also glad Herlihy pitched Monday & wont be pitching today

You're right my "out-pitched" to describe "pitched a little better" may have been an extreme way to describe a fine line, but, if in a game, you pitch a little better than I do, I would say you out-pitched me.  Although, as discussions have indicated, "a little better" is difficult to define.  That's the beauty of baseball.  

Again, it is a miracle that Merrimack survived with their pitching staff issuing one free pass per inning.

From what I have heard, Pinkerton has a pretty good #1a.  His name escapes me.  Is it Casey?  Is it Partridge's turn for Concord?  I'm standing by my initial statement, this is going to be a good D1 baseball game.

Where to go? To lazy to drive to Pembroke.  Pinkerton vs. Concord? Holman for a double header?  Bedford then Holman?  It's a nice day for a change.  I can't lose.

Another cool story line is that Portsmouth beat PA a few years ago to set the record for consecutive wins....different players...same coaches....PA would love to get that bad taste out of their mouths!

I never said either outpitched the other either, or even believe one pitched better than the other    I just pointed out that both had their pluses and minuses, and since those were so different for each, its tough to compare them directly. There are a lot of young men pitching very well so far this year and its a pleasure to get a chance to see some of them. I tip my cap to all of them. It'll be even better when its not 30deg in the wind!!!

LOL

More great games.  Lunn and BG in extras over South 4-3.  Spaulding might be coming back to earth a little bit with their 2nd straight loss, going down to North 2-1.  Concord remains the only unbeaten team with a 2-1 win over Pinkerton.  Pinkerton's 2-5 record is very misleading.  Other than Spaulding, they've been in every game.  Campo and the Astros might be one of those teams you don't want to face in the playoffs.

Curious about Nasty Lefty's view of this score from yesterday:

Manchester Central 5-2 over Trinity.

It seems as though pitchers are still dominating the scoreboards with many low scoring results.  The cynic wonders is the pitching that good or the hitting that bad

Other than a couple of pitchers, seems as though teams are going to have to win by playing a bit of defense and employing small ball tactics.  South bunted in the top of the 7th yesterday to score a go ahead run. Bunt really wasn't perfect as it went right to the pitcher, but the runner on 3rd had a great jump and scored easily.

To add fuel to the running pitching argument - the Telegraph headline was Lunn outduels South's Gouveia... The article then points out each went 6.1 innings, neither got the win, but both figured in the scoring while at bat.  Gouviea also had a chance in top 8 to plate some runs with bases loaded and 2 outs, but grounded out to 3rd.  Lunn on the other hand scorched the ball with runners from 1st/2nd moving.  The paper says the shot was just out of the reach of Reed - that's a stretch - the ball got to the wall in a hurry and Reed had no chance as it was by him.

Well pitched game by both starters - hate to see either lose.  Errors factored too as South's first runner was initially called out at 3rd on his steal, but the ball had been knocked out of McQuarrie's glove... Without that error, there's probably not a steal of second followed by a single and South's first 2 runs...  Then in the bottom 7, Warneke missed the cutoff at 2B resulting in McQuarrie being able to scamper to 3rd as the ball ended up along the fence in RF near the gate. BG wasted no time in getting a SF to tie the game.

The only lingering question is - who designed South's new uniforms???  Not a fan of them at all... See the pictures in the telegraph article:

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com...01471-457/story.html

Thanks John.

Personally, I think there are a lot of really good pitchers out there in DI this year.  No slight to any other divisions, just I have not been to any of those games. From the 12-15 games I've seen so far around the State, I think that almost every team has at least one ace on the hill who can beat just about anybody on any given day ... depending on which team shows up.  Some of the better pitched games I've seen have come from pitchers who were pitching, and not necessarily throwing. They were not the guys throwing mid 80's. Some are pretty crafty and hard to like like that young kid in Concord.

On that note, the team that played better yesterday in the Central vs Trinity game is the team that came out on top, period. As Mike G. eluded to in his earlier post, looks like the real Green showed up yesterday.  Did not look like a team that was 0-6.  They were making the plays in the field with limited errors (if any) and Dario was stifling Pioneer hitters with his low velocity ... I wasn't keeping his stats or for the Green so I do not know how many hits Trinity had, but I know it was not that many. They did leave the bases loaded and didn't score at least once

Like John said, teams are going to have to win by playing a bit of defense and employing small ball tactics. Once again, Trinity made costly errors (25 in the previous 7 games), and some were mental that transcended into Central runs. Returning the day before from a week long Robotics trip in California, Trinity starter Currier appeared lithargic from the start and his usual command of the plate was definitely off.  Though he only allowed 6 hits in a complete game with 8 K's, he did walk 5 and hit a batter, three of them ended up scoring. There may have been 2 unearned runs there, but like most team's "official" score books, that's open to one's own interpretation, right?. Of Trinity's 4 losses, this was the first loss that they did not lose in the last inning.  Again .... all in all ... it appeared from the start that Central came out to play and Trinity did not.

Oooppps ... I meant "hard to hit" and NOT "hard to like" when referring to the kid from Concord. Sorry.

Great post JohnF.  I want to expand on your comment about the Telegraph's article.  I don't want to beat these people up because it's great anytime these kids can get some exposure through the newspapers.  That said, it amazes me how much they get wrong.  Not just names (which is understandable since they just don't know these kids like the parents and coaches do) but the actual events on the field.  Like the plays you mentioned. 

It also amazes me that these local newspapers and the local news waste their time with national sports.  Just my opinion, but wouldn't it be great if they just focused on local sports only and understood that when we want national sports we have about a trillion other sources to choose from.  Maybe then we could read an article about every high school game in the state, and WMUR could show more High School highlights instead of highlights of David Ortiz hitting a double that ALL OF US SAW ON NESN THE PREVIOUS NIGHT!!! I will now step off my soap box.

rogerw: I agree 110% with you about local vs. national coverage w/ the Telegraph and WMUR. 

<soapbox set=on>

For the last few years I've been going to "other" paper's websites in order to get local sports news.  Fosters, Sentinel, Monitor, SeaCoastOnline, until recently the UnionLeader did a better job with local sports.  Even the LowellSun and EagleTribune had better stories locally.   A couple years ago when the Telegraph started being printed out of Portsmouth they also more or less required local coaches to submit their own game summaries.  If you beat the deadline (I think 9PM) you perhaps got into the paper.  Joe Marchelina seems to be the only guy focused on local coverage.  Tom King (football/hockey) and Gary Fitz (football/basketball) will do local stuff every now and then... I have no idea what Greenwood and Scione have done at the Telegraph for the last few years...

And WMUR - trying to play with the big boys too.  Thankfully for football fans they have Friday Night Lights...  Too bad that doesn't translate into other sports. They also will cover the FisherCats/Monarchs, but jeez I wish they'd do a few more local stories.  Of course I don't stay up until 1130PM any more so I wouldn't be watching "live".  As for the Red Sox - yep - I'd rather watch NESN, ESPN, or Comcast SportsNet.

<soapbox set=off>

In the Nashua area EPSN 900 started doing local coverage every day at 6PM - I was shocked one night while heading out to hear local scores... It was the first day of the season and they were reporting baseball scores and talking lacrosse with Chris Cameron (BG's and NH Tomahawks coach). I think the recent spate of 630PM Sox games has disrupted them, but it was worth a listen.. See:

http://pro.wgam-am.tritonflex....mmon/page.php?id=111

I was at the BG/South Game.Lunn Threw Great as did Joe G. Inf Ump blew 3 calls however, and all went against South. Reed hit an INF single, flat out beat it. BG Coach went out and argued it, got an appeal to HP Ump (?) who then called him out. South coach asked for an explination and was told "His foot didn't come off the bag". 2nd base ump never signaled that he was off the bag, just safe. Never should have been an appeal to begin with. No real arguement back. Awful. South's lack of actual coaches on 1st has cost them three times on Pick offs in the last 5 games (1-4). Frustrating.

BTW....agree completely with South's Uniforms. The pants look like wind/sweat pants. Very little Purple, just all grey, like they are perminantly on the "road".  

I agree with John F. and Nasty Lefty who believe that defense or the lack of it is going to have a say in who is standing on the Delta Dental turf on June 8.  Hopefully the better weather will mean cleaner defensive contests.

Nothing wrong with a well executed squeeze either.  I liked South's use of it last night.  I was expecting it again towards the end of the game but the signal wasn't given.  I have seen and read about more than a few squeeze-plays this season.  Nothing more exciting in the HS game, except maybe a line drive in the gap that may be 3.

There was an offensive play last night that may have cost South the win in regulation.  1st and 3rd...I believe no one out, but could have been one.   Infield back ground ball to short.  Runner on 3rd doesn't break and all BG could get was the force at second.   The run that wasn't.

Reed's infield single was a strange reversal.  From where I was sitting he beat it by a step and 1/2.  They may have appealed to me, but I had a bad angle.  I have also seen a runner called out this season for a head first dive into the plate.  That was strange as well.

I forgot about that 1st/3rd with 1 out where the runner didn't go - I was (pleasantly) surprised.  The SS was playing deep so at that point BG was hoping for the double play and conceding the run if only one out was made.

As for Reed's play at first base - since my son was right there with his foot on the bag I can say without a doubt that he, Reed, and 1B coach thought Reed was out; however, a bunt later in the game with 1B charging, throw to 2B-man covering where the runner was called out - that one each agreed the runner should have been safe. That's a tough call from where the umpire is though in "C".

In B8 - if you bunt the #3 batter with 1st/2nd - you take the bat out of Lunn's hands.  The #3 batter had a tough night facing the lefty, but has hit well against righty's.  South had just put Deluca in, so it's a chance you take I guess. South had already intentionally walked the #2 batter after the leadoff batter doubled on a play where in some eyes Reed was playing too shallow. I may have taken my chances with facing the #5 and #6 batters and not Lunn.

BTW: If the "headfirst dive" was truly a "over" the catcher, then there is a FED rule for that which requires an out being called out [8-4-2(b)(2) "Runners are never required to slide, but if a runner elects to slide, the slide must be legal. (2-32-1,2).  Jumping, hurdling, and leaping are all legal attempts to avoid a fielder as long as the fielder is lying on the ground.  Diving over a fielder is illegal."]

JohnF, that still doesn't explain the first call,and the subsiquent appeal home. Asking the home plate umpire for an out/safe call at first is like asking the Umpire in B position to check a swing. I have no doubt the firstbasemans foot was on the bag. It wasn't a question on the initial call either. Therefore, there was nothing to appeal. 

As far as why the runner didn't break for home on the 1st and third, thats easy, because NO ONE TOLD HIM TO GO.  I would have pitched to the #2 hitter instead of Lunn as well. From my vantage point, Reed was playing straight away, it was simply a well hit ball in the gap, as was the game winner, which he did almost get to (probably where the Telegraph got confused)

I was at the BG game and wanted to chime in as well on that play at first. The appeal was simply if the first baseman had held the bag or not as the umpire had said he thought he did not and that lead to the "safe" call. You can appeal for help on that aspect of the call. As the 1b did hold the bag, and the home ump confirmed that, the base umpire felt the ball beat the runner and made what he felt was the correct call.
I also agree that Reed was playing shallow for that situation, but he has decent speed out there.. 

Ironwill, I completely get that and would wholeheartedly agree IF he had signaled that the first baseman was off the bag from the start. He never did. If he wasn't sure he should have immediately asked the home plate umpire (at least thats how I was taught in B position). But he simply signaled safe. It appearred he was talked into the appeal by the BG coach. Water under the bridge now.....

w/r/t: play at first

Only 2 people "know" what happened and they're not talking (to us). I thought the runner was out at first look, but that's my biased judgement. Some of the plays just prior had some fancy footwork involved in order to maintain contact with the bag, so who knows. Having been in that position before you do sometimes forget to signal off the bag, although your mind may tell you that you did. I've seen (and had) coaches come out and ask about calling something a particular way - you are trained to ask for help. You certainly "hear it" if you don't go for help. The plate umpire can only tell the base umpire in that situation whether the foot remained in contact with the bag or if there was a swipe tag applied that the base umpire didn't have a good look at. As a coach you have to "pick-n-choose" when to go out or not - that particular close play seemed like a good time to go ask. Although going out or arguing every close play doesn't always end well

BTW: It's far worse when you're in "C" and asked to appeal the check swing on the righty batter, but how many times do coaches and catchers ask for it anyway?

Great games today in Div 1. 

Does anyone know who's starting in any of these games?

Exeter at Merrimack

Concord at North

Pinkerton at Salem

Memorial at Trinity

Londonderry at Dover

BG at Winnacunnet

Thanks.

Seems like alot of close games this year. On Friday Merrimack 3-2 over Exeter, North gave Concord it's first loss of the season 4-3, and South over Bedford 5-4.  If you look back at all the scores you'll see a boatload of one run games.  Interesting. 

Some good games today.  Bedford(4-3) at Concord(6-1); North(6-3) at Londonderry(5-3); and Exeter(5-3) at Spaulding(6-2).  Concord should bounce back and take care of Bedford.  I think Partridge goes for them. (not 100% on this)   I think the North-Londonderry is the most intriguing.  I'm pretty sure Moloney goes for Londonderry.  Not sure if McCarthy or Robert will go for North. I'll pick North to win, but my guess is that this game will come down to defense.  It seems like anytime Moloney's pitching, it's a tight low scoring game that comes down someone making a play in the field. Exeter (Joyce) should extend Spaulding's losing streak to 3 games. Again, I'm not 100% on who's pitching in these games.  If I'm wrong, let me know.  Thank you.

w/r/t: North

McCarthy pitched 6+ Friday. Robert relieved him, but suffered some control issues with HBP and walks...  I wouldn't be surprised to see Smith go as he has been quite effective for them.

w/r/t: Exeter

Joyce went 3 on Sat. vs. BG, so he would be available, but I think the Exeter coach seems to trust the rest of his staff too.

w/r/t: Concord/Bedford

This could be a very interesting game.  Bedford is hot right now and Concord had what I'd call a disappointing loss. It'll be interesting to see if they do bounce back.

There's also South/Alvirne today which could be interesting.  Alvirne has a tough week with Londonderry and Trinity.  Could be interesting to see if they pitch Brown today or against Londonderry.

Strange week - many teams seem to have just 2 games.  BG only has 1 in-state game. Trinity only plays once too.

I heard Joyce asked out of the game Saturday after 3 innings complaining about his arm.  He still hasn't given up a run this season, inherited runners included.  Exeter plays their rival Winni at home Friday, may keep him out until then especially if he needs rest.  bosen has given them some good innings, might be his turn today.  Either way I'm picking Exeter to continue Spaulding's slide.  Gareau is going for Winni vs. Merrimack, his first time back on the mound since he gave Spaulding their first loss in a complete game.  Not sure who is going for Merrimack.  Winni needs to figure out how to get more contributions offensively from their first year younger players so they can score more than 5 runs a game if they hope to win vs. better teams.  Dover really seems to be struggling, haven't heard much about their games so far but they need to pick up the pace if they hope to reach the playoffs.

South/Bedford was a nice comback win for South. Soph JJ Dunn started game found himself down 4-0 due to some bad luck, a couple of lasers from the Bedford#3 hitter and a few errors, but pitched well. Reed came in in relief (Last years closer, curiously the first time this year on the mound for some reason) and threw 3 scoreless, and drove in the tying and go ahead runs. Defense looked very sharp.

Possibly Delucca going today against Alvirne and then Gouviea or Penkala vs North on Wed. I would assume McCarthy for North on Wed.