The schedule gods frown on Somers
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- March
- 21
I had a chance today to talk to a few members of Somers, the reigning Class A champ and a team that returns an intimidating number of arms to the section’s best rotation: RHP Dan Tracy, LHP Dan Zlotnick, RHP Jerry Battipaglia and RHP Ron Stenz. (I know some of you will argue with that claim, so I recommend you check the stats.)
My preview story will run early next month so I’ll save my thoughts on the pitching, which, as Jim Rome would say, should be FEE-nominal. What I also found interesting was the Tuskers’ unusually hard schedule. They open next Saturday (March 29) with defending Class AA champ North Rockland. They’ll also return to the Iona Prep tournament and face other tough foes like Mahopac and Carmel.
Coach Joe Wootten told me he wanted to pump up the non-league schedule, knowing his team had the pitching to compete in every game. Obviously the question will be whether or not they can account for the absence of all-section MIF John Cucchiarella and Mike Levine. Cucchiarella was among the best SS in the area and Levine provided a lot of thump in the lineup. Just ask Sean Giblin.
Anyway, my point is this: Somers will be tested. Will its staff be as unhittable? Will its record be as impressive? Maybe not. But don’t think for a second they aren’t just as good, if not better…
This entry was posted
on Friday, March 21st, 2008 at 9:27 pm by Josh Thomson.
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Josh Thomson has done some of everything since joining The Journal News in
March 2003. He began working for the Gannett weeklies during the winter of
2002 as a freelance writer. He joined the daily staff soon after and has
since covered various high school and pro sports. Away from sportswriting,
Josh lives in Westchester and spends his free time either with his
fiancee, Sarah, or expertly managing his various championship-winning
fantasy sports teams. He's visited 21 major-league baseball stadiums and
insists that Fenway Park and Wrigley Field are the best by far. Josh
graduated from Carmel High School in 1998, then went to Boston University,
where, in 2002, he received a degree in communications with a minor in
history. 
Jake Thomases has covered baseball, hockey, girls basketball, and girls soccer for the Journal News since arriving in 2003. He previously interned at The Poughkeepsie Journal while attending Vassar College. He is socking money away under his mattress to buy the Knicks, at which time he will trade Jerome James to Cleveland for a ham sandwich.
i caught both Zlotnick and Tracy this past fall and they both are lights out. Zlotnick has left countless bruises on my catching hand from his nasty two seam fastball that has unbelievable movement. Also another good arm in somers’ rotation that nobody is mentioning because of the overwhelming talent that surrounds him is Will Sisca, i played with him this summer and hes got a good fastball and a nice curve and changeup to go with. Somers is no doubt the team to beat.
siscas got a LOT to work on, hopefully it works out for him though
By Coach of Somers. Only way to get better is to load up the non-c games. More coaches should do the same instead of trying to pad stats. Good Job Coach Wooten.
Black Magic Bat, we honor thee, lead us into battle against any foe,
fail us not, Black Magic Bat
Somers has a ninth grade stud Miguel Nunez. I’ve been scouting games, and Nunez throws in the low 100’s from across the diamond. He should fit well in the middle of that lineup. I heard he doesn’t even go up to the plate with a bat—he catches the pitch with his bare hands and throws it over the center field wall. Good luck Somers!
oh the hilarity..
wow i just saw this blog..there is not a chance in hell that somers is going to come close in beating us on Sat. There getting there hopes up. They may have won their section last year but they’re forgetting that we won ours too in AA not some bs A stuff versus crap teams. Why is everyone making such a big deal about them and their pitching staff. they can talk when they play a REAL team from rockland county
uh kid i dont really see where we said in this blog that we were gonna beat u guys we havent said a word about the game, and i guess teams like Fox Lane and Iona Prep arent good. Btw this article is about stregthening up our schedule, not winning all our games
I played with Miguel Nunez down in Florida. He definitely does not throw 100. He topped out at 97 max(with a crow hop)!!!! As for the center field fence throw, it’s legit.
good thing the game is cancelled ..it saves u guys from embarrassment..ps nunez u throw shit like tracy
I was just watching this blog and felt I had to make a comment. What are you talking about NR? Have you seen Nunez pitch? He has the most explosive stuff I’ve seen in my 37 years of scouting this region. In one extra inning game against an AAU team from CA he struck out 41 batters in 14 no-hit innings. (I hope you understand that this is 41 of 42 outs) The other out was a check swing where the ball became lodged in the bat…ps look at Tracy’s stats before you comment on his pitching
Just Watching-
By my calculation, if he had struck out 41 hitters in one game and threw only THREE pitches to every hitter and ONE pitch to the other out, he would have thrown 124 pitches. It was also noted that this young man is a Freshman. Considering that the best Major League strike out pitchers in the history of baseball averaged 5.5 pitches per batter struck out, he would have thrown 227 pitches. In this case his arm will no doubt fall off before May. PLEASE…..
HVDAD-
Did you take into account in your calculations that Nunez has major league stuff facing against high school batters… I think not.
It doesn’t matter. Even 124 pitches (not possible) is way too much for any High School player, let alone a kid who’s 14 yrs old.That’s not merely a calculation, it’s a fact.
Not only does Nunez throw the ball 100 mph plus, i saw him run from 1st to home in 2.3 seconds and thats a fact! In batting practice he hit 6 balls(with wood) that wee all over 500 ft easily. When he was warming up the catcher had to get a special glove that was designed by NASA to prevent from breaking the catchers hand and the glove had to be changed after every 10 pitches. He then out ran a speeding locomotive, leaped a tall building in a single bound and foiled Lex Luther’s plot to take over the universe! LOL
Now that one’s just ridiculous. Who the F*** is Lex Luther? And I was clocked at 3.2 seconds, not 2.3. Get it str8
—migs
NR….north rockland will not be so good this year….you guys just got hot last year at the right moment…i was at the championship game with you verse carmel…..and id rather say…..besides one bad fielding inning by carmel which gave u guys 4 runs….carmel dominated the whole game…so u shouldn’t talk too much. Your season was filled with luck n help by all the errors carmel had in that game. I am a neutral fan of AA n this is just my opinion but i do believe others agree as well….It was a nice run you had but very lucky.
i have a feeling NR is someone from somers trying to get the team fired up maybe?
NR is a bunch of scrubs
has anyone ever seen mrs. nunez? miss venezuela 1984. enough said.
ATTENTION:
In an unprecedented move, we at Rawlings have agreed to sponsor freshman phenom Miguel Nunez. Nunez, who has the best arm (and legs) in the Northeast, also has a semi-famous mother, who has some pretty nice legs herself. Catalina Nunez was Miss Venezuela in 1984.
Nunez apparel will be available at Modell’s and Sports Authority. You can also order Nunez gear online at Rawlings.com
Good luck, Section One.
WOW, or Bear. I know who you are and I’m not afraid of your piercing eyes. Not many 6’6” players on the field. Get your running shoes, but you’ve seen Miguel run(guess where the speed comes from). The Rawlings contract is pretty cool(5yrs- 25 million)Maybe I’ll give you some Nunez sprinting shoes to give you a chance.
everybody stop with the lies about miguel nunez. please. this is just ridiculous. nobody runs a 3.2 to first and throws in the high 90s as a freshman, if at all. are you serious? (pitching) i’ve seen him play and he’ll maybe top out at 86-87 but he has a nasty slider and is also working on a change-up. (speed) he doesn’t run a 3.2, but he is very fast. i think his speed is probably comparable to FL’s (and duke’s) tom luciano. (hitting) for a freshman, he’s very good at going to his oppositie field and has some pop that may be seen this year and in years to come. good luck to miggsy and somers this year but get the facts straight and cut the crap.
I am a scout for the Braves. Here are my numbers on Nunez.
Scale (1-5)
NOW (Projected)
Speed: 5 (5)
Hitting: 4 (5)
Arm: 5 (5)
Size: 4 (5)
Attitude: 2 (2)
Pitching
FB: 5 (5) 92-94 MPH
CHANGE: 3 (4) 78-80 MPH
SLIDER: 4 (5) 85 MPH
He does not throw over 100 from across the diamond on most guns, but maybe on certain guns, and if his arm was loose . . .
Wow!
So I guess Somers will win just about all their games. Definitely the ones Nunez pitches and he will lead the county in every offensive category. I cant wait!
Oh, and no excuses please…
baseball fan… im glad we’re on the same page… THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT!
I watched the Somers practice today. At first, it was raining, so Migs was just running through the raindrops. Finally, when the baseballs got wet, Nunez looked up at the sky with a menacing glare, and the clouds went away instantly. It’s now 70 degrees and sunny.
(Oh, and he also hit five HR’s and seven triples during the intrasquad.)
I hope that our scout’s joke about Miggsy throwin’ 100 will not ruin his credibility. His skills are pretty much what the somersstudent said. By the way,I was at the practice, and it did get mysteriously clear(coincidence or not). Good luck Miggsy and good luck Somers! It should be a lot of fun watching our young and talented phenom take the field. And baseball fan, I don’t think he will lead every category, but he has potential to be all league and all section, and he will be tough to beat when he’s on the hill.