Oh, oh, Orleans; it’s magic? 2012

Sorry, I’ve got the song stuck in my head, forgive the lyric-related headline.

I’m excited about the Orleans roster, and I don’t just say that because they’ve got three Commodores coming in (although, let’s face it, that’s pretty exciting). I love Orleans. Coach K, Sue, that beautiful park with the grassy hill, the shell in right field (which may not be around for forever…according to wickedlocal.com). They put on a great show–from the batter-friendly park to the stud pitching crew Kelly puts together every year, to the amazing fans who fill that park, it’s got a special place in my heart (but then again, ask me about how I feel about other parks, chances are I’ll say the same thing, for their own reasons).

Anyways, from Vanderbilt, Orleans brings back Anthony Gomez, who played well for them last year, and acquires Conrad Gregor and the young left-handed “Little Ball of Hate” Philip Pfeifer. When I first saw Fife pitch, his jerky motion made me cringe and wonder how on earth he managed to find the plate. But, well, it’s effective, and nasty, and he has the mentality of, well, a hateful little ball of hate on the mound. Young and hateful. It’ll be fun watching him pitch a) all spring and b) all summer.

The team returns Trevor Gott (RHP, Kentucky), an All-Star from last year’s team, catcher Jake Hernandez (USC), and pitcher Kyle Hunter (Dartmouth). Hunter didn’t make nearly the same impact Gott did (7 games, six in relief, compared to 18 games, 12 saves, 14 walks and 26 walkouts worth of work from Gott). I don’t know if Kelly would consider turning either of them into starters–they do have eight other right-handed pitchers and two other lefties to consider.

They pick up two newbies (sophomores) from Duke, infielder Angelo LaBruna, and inf/of Chris Marconcini. Go figure, Marconcini is a Brentwood, Tenn. native–20 minutes from where I am these days. Small world. In 2011, he became only the seventh player in Duke’s history to lead the team in RBI, runs and extra-base hits–something I’m sure Coach K is hoping he contributes to Orleans’ batting this year. Not to mention, he’s a clutch hitter, leading with 19 two-out RBIs. And LaBruna? Started all 56 games last season for the Blue Devils as a true freshman. Not too shabby for the Gold Glove Award winner (senior year in hs).

Chatham’s 2012 Crew

The 2012 Chatham A’s bring back 2011′s Kris Bryant (3B, San Diego), Alex Calbick (inf, Maine), and Dace Kime (RHP, Louisville), and brings in multiple players from Louisville, San Diego, Boston College, and Virginia Tech.

Bryant and Calbick were decent contributers last year to the A’s lineup, hitting .223 and .205 respectively in 37 and 35 games. But, the key is their number of hits–Bryant knicked opposing pitchers for 29, Calbick 25, driving in a combined 27 runs and crossing the plate 28 combined times. Bryant also showed a little pop in his bat with three homeruns–something Chatham could desperately use. Hopefully both have learned patience at the plate this year; Bryant struck out a team-high 51 times.

Kime, a Defiance, Ohio native (I had to mention that, I love the name of the town), is a sophomore righty at Louisville. Last year saw 42.2 innings of work in 11 games, 8 starts, 34 strikeouts, and a 5.91 ERA–higher than the Chatham staff would have liked, most likely, but by far not the highest of last year’s rotation and pen. But Kime, a 2010 draft pick of the Pirates, was primarily utilized as a reliever at Louisville last year (he only saw three starts in fifteen appearances). Chances are, he’ll settle in and be used as an anchor in Chatham. We’ll see though. I’ll see him May 8th when he comes to Vanderbilt for a one-game rivalry match up against the Dores.

Kime will be joined by college teammates Nick Burdi (another righty), Alex Chittenden (SS), and centerfielder Adam Engel. Other college pairings include BC’s Tom Bourdon, who will also be competing for CF duties, and Eric Stevens, a righty; Virginia Tech’s Chad Morgan and Chad Pinder (and yes, I foresee cute references to “the Chads” in their future); and a trio of San Diego’ans–Bryant, Louise LeChich (LHP/CF), and RHP Michael Wagner. Pepperdine tosses in Aaron Brown and Scott Frazier–hopefully all the team chemistry from these college teammate pairings contribute to a stronger 2012 Chatham team than normal.

In total, Chatham looks to have nine right handers and four potential south paws at their disposal. They’ll have three catchers as well–they always load up on catchers–in UConn’s Alex DeBellis, UCAL-Berkeley’s Andrew Knapp, and Tech’s Morgan.

View the full roster here, along with others.

Breaking down Bourne’s 2012 roster

After falling shy of a late-championship series run, the Bourne Braves return several players from their 2011 rosters this summer.

UNC’s infielder Tommy Coyle and third baseman Colin Moran, right-hander Ryan Eades from LSU, Arkansas’ righty Ryan Stanek, Louisville’s righty Chad Green, and Huskies southpaw Brian Ward will all return from the 22-20 Braves team, providing a solid base to the pitching staff.

Eades was an All Star pick with 32.1 innings of work, six starts in seven games, and 23 strikeouts to his name, along with one of the league-leading low ERAs of 0.84. Ward and Stanek are also in the rotation, with seven starts between them, and Green did the majority of his work from the bullpen last year in 11 games.

Coyle and Moran contributed 22 runs between the two of them. Coyle, batting .315 and playing in 29 games, had 34 hits, 16 RBI, 34 hits, and only 13 walks. Moran, hitting .289, contributed 28 hits in 26 games. The Braves will likely look to these two to be powerhouses in their lineup.

The Braves are also getting one of the Dores, the young Chris Harvey (Vanderbilt), a catcher who graduated high school a year early to come to Vanderbilt (similar to what Levi Michaels did at UNC a few years back). Funnily enough, Harvey got the Dores first hit of the season this past weekend against projected number one draft pick Mark Appel (Stanford, played for YD last year). Harvey’s young, but a solid enough player that he’ll see plenty of time behind the plate, sharing it with sophomore Jared Bales (Southern Mississippi).

Coming in as CCBL newbies are two sophomore Huskers, Jon Keller and Tyler King, a 6’5 righty and a 6’0 lefty. Keller has been working hard at school after starting every weekend for the Big Red as a true freshman last year. Keller had a 3.62 ERA and a 3-6 w/l record in 15 appearances and 14 starts. He also had a solid 54 strikeouts.

Teammate King has largely been utilized out of the pen at college, contributing a 2.21 ERA in 20.1 innings of work—just ten hits, nine runs, five of them earned, walked 18, and striking out 16.

Southern Miss sends in three as well, including Bales, infielder Connor Barron, and outfielder/pitcher Mason Robbins. Robbins and Barron are both freshmen, getting their first taste of college ball this spring. I’d say the freshmen are doing well enough to start their season—after the first weekend of D1 games, Connor is batting .385, Mason’s .200 in just two games.