Louisville Slugger and Collegiate Baseball released their preseason high school All-American teams. Suffern senior Robbie Aviles and Mamaroneck senior Mike Rosenfeld were both named to the first team.

The 6-foot-5 Aviles, a right-handed pitcher committed to the University of Florida, was one of 37 pitchers named to the team. He had 77 strikeouts and a 0.76 ERA and allowed just 19 hits in 46 innings for Suffern as a junior.

Rosenfeld, a two-time state champion who committed to Duke, was one of 13 catchers named to the team. He broke the Mamaroneck school record for RBI when he was a sophomore with 58. Last season he batted a hamstring injury, but finished strong and batted .450 with 30 RBI as a junior.

Hello, 2010 baseball season. It is right around the corner, and I have started to formulate my thoughts for the upcoming year.

I thought in the coming weeks I’d make a stab at a PRE-preseason rankings, both overall in the section and in each separate class. So here’s what I’m looking for: I want you to state your case. Which teams will win? Why? Who’s gone? Who’s back? And why will that help or hurt them?

Clearly, Mamaroneck, the defending state champs, was crippled by graduation, probably more so than any team I’ve seen in six years. But can the Tigers, who still have Mike Rosenfeld and Sam Gruppo, return to the top? Could the Dutchess teams slide into Mamaroneck’s mighty throne?

How about Stepinac and Fordham, the CHSAA’s two city championship finalists? Fordham and returning star George Perrotta swept Stepinac for the dramatic victory, but are the Crusaders a bigger returning favorite? They graduated a few key seniors, but return excellent younger players, led by Steve Martinez.

Is Lakeland the clear-cut favorite in A thanks to the dominant 1-2 punch of Jonathan deMarte and Joe Arena? Maybe, but the Hornets were upset again last season thanks to a no-hitter by Somers’ Dan Zlotnick. Will they hit enough? And  how will they adjust without their leader, Jon Cosenza? Who will challenge them? Perhaps Hen Hud, with T.J. Olesczuk and Mike Tandy?

Kennedy was hit hard by graduation, losing Anthony Corona and Mike Mercurio. What do the Gaels return? How will Dobbs adjust without Ted Huffman and a very solid senior class? And will anyone score off Ryan Pennell? Anyone? Bueller?

The Class C favorite has to be Keio. The Unicorns are the champs until proven otherwise. But can anyone knock off Section 1’s reigning kings without their ironman?

Lots of questions, and I hope you can help me formulate the answers. So let’s hear what you have to say.

If you missed the story on Sunday, I wrote something about Stepinac’s former JV baseball coach, Joe O’Grady, that ran on the front of the paper. O’Grady worked at Stepinac for six seasons but missed last year after he was stricken with bladder cancer.

The school will host a blood drive today in the school cafeteria from 1-7 p.m. in honor of O’Grady, who is undergoing aggressive treatment after learning this summer that his cancer had spread. I mention this to spread the word in case anyone wants to donate today.

The O’Grady story is both saddening and remarkable. He and wife Shannon were unable to have a baby so they adopted two Haitian children three years ago. Before they could even pick them up from Haiti, O’Grady and his wife learned she was pregnant. The family swelled from two to five in no time.

There were finally all together in the spring of 2008 — O’Grady’s third and last season as Stepinac’s head JV coach. But the family learned later last year about O’Grady prognosis, and he has fought it ever since.

The Stepinac community and the Throgs Neck, Bronx community where O’Grady and varsity coach Pat Duffy are from have been very supportive during O’Grady’s time of need. Today’s blood drive is just their latest effort.

If you have any further questions, shoot me an e-mail at jthomson@lohud.com.

Ryan Pennell wasn’t the only LoHudder on Elon’s 2010 list of signees. So was another southpaw from Section 1: former Mahopac star C.J. Riefenhauser.

Riefenhauser originally committed to Iona out of high school. Instead, he ended up down at Guilford Tech, a community college in Jamestown, N.C. It turned out his freshman season down there helped turn a few eyes at Elon, where the pitching coach believes C.J. has the potential to become a weekend starter.

Anyway, I thought you’d like to know where Riefenhauser had landed. You can find Elon’s complete list of recruits here.

Horace Greeley senior Nick Leiningen has committed to play baseball at Sacred Heart. He will join the team as a walkon with a guaranteed roster spot with the hope to earn a scholarship the following year.

Leiningen, who was recruited as an outfielder and pitcher, said he looked at several schools in Connecticut, like Fairfield, Quinnipiac and Hartford. He wanted to stay closer to home, and had roots in the Bridgeport area. Leiningen served as the batboy for the Bridgeport Bluefish for five years, and Sacred Heart plays its home games at Harbor Yard, the home of the Bluefish.

As a junior at Blind Brook, Leiningen batted .471 with three home runs, 17 RBI and 21 runs scored and was named all-section. He also finished 5-3 with 61 strikeouts in 42 2/3 IP.

Only five months after he led the Dobbs Ferry baseball team past defending state champ Kennedy and into the Class B state final, Ted Huffman learned he will not be retained as the coach.

Huffman had coached the varsity all four seasons since Skip Violante left in the summer of 2005. His Eagles finished 24-3 in ‘09 and came within one win of a state championship.

That success came with a few headaches, as you can read in my story that ran in today’s paper. Huffman said he still hasn’t been told why the school district chose to move in a different direction, but the 54-year-old was not shocked either. He met with district administrators last year on more than one occasion to address parental complaints. He considered stepping down, not wanting to endure the questions again, but decided against it. When he set plans in place for offseason workouts, AD Jim Lindsay told him the district’s decision.

To an outside observer, it comes as surprising news. Parents and other members of the community plan on attending the board of education meeting tonight and asking why Huffman was let go. They don’t expect an answer.

As you can read in the story, Huffman has resigned himself that his stint at Dobbs is over.

“I know it’s a dead issue. I?know I’m not going back there coaching,” he said. “And the honest truth, even if they wanted me back I?don’t think I’d want to come back.”

OK, I’m going to list all the local guys who have committed to play ball in college. I know I’ll miss a few, so let me know who, either in the comments or through e-mail at jthomson@lohud.com.

Commitments, Class of 2010:
Robbie Aviles, Suffern — Florida
Tom Baroni, Kennedy — Bates College
Billy Demersky, Mahopac — Young Harris
Joey Espinal, Beacon — Albany
Stephen Green, John Jay (Brewster) — Boston College
Jared Hirschberg, John Jay — Manhattan
Nick Leiningen, Greeley — Sacred Heart
Colin Moran, Iona Prep — North Carolina
T.J. Olesczuk, Hen Hud — Winthrop
Ryan Pennell, Rye Neck — Elon
John Pilla, Ardsley — Young Harris
Mike Rosenfeld, Mamaroneck — Duke
Joe Smith, Kennedy — Iona
Mike Tandy, Hen Hud — Young Harris
Zack Tax, RCDS (White Plains) — Columbia

I wrote a story for today’s paper about Iona Prep senior Colin Moran, who has committed to the University of North Carolina.

Of course, he will head to Chapel Hill on the heels of his brother, Brian, who made the club as a walk-on and developed into one of the top relievers in the country. He since was drafted by the Mariners in the seventh round of last June’s draft and started his pro career strong. The younger Moran will also play for the school of uncle B.J. Surhoff, the Rye native who played ball at UNC and became the No. 1 overall pick.

While he may not have reached the legendary status of Uncle B.J., Colin earned his way to UNC. He will sign under different circumstances than his brother, who needed to make the team and didn’t receive a scholarship. Not Colin, who received a partial deal and a roster guarantee.

It wasn’t always so simple. After waiting patiently for the Tar Heels to recruit him, and mulling options that included Louisville, Virginia Tech, Elon, Florida Atlantic and others, the younger Moran eventually caught their attention. He first did so during an invitational at Fenway Park in August (see photo above), then kept their interest at last month’s Perfect Game showcase in Jupiter, Fla. He strongly considered other schools, but made his decision once he believed UNC held genuine interest in obtaining his services.

I’ll let you read the rest of the story. I have a few more players to mention, and I’ll add their commitments later today.

The people of the Port Chester Youth Baseball League will host a fall version of their successful Battle at the Border on Oct. 3 and 4. The tournament, called the 2009 Elite Eight edition of the Battle at the Border, will include many of the top teams from the tri-state area and other portions of New England.

To check a list of the teams included log on here. You can find a complete schedule of games here.

All games will be held at either Rec Park or Port Chester Middle School, both of which are in Port Chester.

If you missed it Tuesday, I wrote a story about the CHSAA’s fall baseball league, which has existed for more than three decades and remains a key developmental league for the spring baseball season. You can read the story here.

There are examples of players who benefitted from playing fall baseball. I also found it interesting that coaches use the fall as an extended tryout. In actuality, their teams (right or wrong) are mostly picked by the time the fall is over.

The Catholics have a major advantage here in: A) building their programs, B) readying young players for varsity action, and C) putting the right players on the team, and playing them in the right positions.

Do you agree? I believe what the coaches said to be true. The weather in the spring is brutal, and you don’t get an adequate representation of a player’s ability during spring tryouts.

Do any public-school programs have fall workouts/scrimmages?