Top 10, April 26
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- April
- 26
So with a busy day behind us, Jake and I finally got to our belated top 10 list for this week.
I know I say this every week (or so it seems), but this gets tougher and tougher. Iona and Stepinac both lost this week. So did Carmel and North Rockland and Arlington. Mahopac lost twice to John Jay-East Fishkill, which was considered a question mark after losing 100 of the 168 IP on its pitching staff. Now? The Patriots appear to have grown into quite a club.
With that said, please be kind. Here’s the top 10 of two men…let’s hear yours…
1. Mamaroneck — The easiest spot to fill on the board. The Tigers are 10-0 and posted an impressive win over Scarsdale Friday considering Matt McGovern was out. They have quite the week ahead with JJEF on Monday and Don Bosco on Saturday. Sean Hagan is currently scheduled to pitch both games.
2. Ketcham — The Indians are still unbeaten but they’re about to get a whole lot busier. They have a three-game set with Carmel this week that will show how powerful they are.
3. Stepinac — It wasn’t exactly a blowout, but the Crusaders’ win over Iona was a win, razor-thin though it was. They deserve the nod to this point.
4. Iona Prep — Eight runs allowed in last five games. Problem is, two of them were losses, which leads to this thought: The offense must pick it up.
5. John Jay — The Indians return to action in Westchester next week, although they shouldn’t be challenged until their home-and-home with Somers in two weeks.
6. John Jay-East Fishkill — If the Patriots prevented one pinch-hit homer on Wednesday, they would’ve earned a three-game sweep of Mahopac. This team was certainly underestimated. Right now, JJEF sits right behind Ketcham in what should be a wild League I-C race.
7. Arlington — Here’s a team to watch, one that is enigmatic to say the least. The Admirals beat Carmel 17-2, then cough up 10 straight runs to blow a six-run lead. That’s a strange pair of results.
8. Pelham — The Pelicans’ depth and talent in the field and at bat is impressive. If their pitching holds up, and if Charlie Vetrano returns from a broken collarbone anywhere close to where he was last year, they belong right here with those above them. Like I said on Thursday’s TV show, this is the team to beat in Class A.
9. Mahopac — There’s no reason to worry at this point in the year. However, when aces C.J. Riefenhauser and Anthony Castellitto pitch and pitch well, the Indians need to take advantage. This week against John Jay-East Fishkill they didn’t do that.
10. Kennedy — Still hanging on despite very little activity over the last week. The Gaels have two strong wins (vs. Iona and Pelham) that put them here with the rest.
On the doorstep:
— Clarkstown South
— Somers
— Carmel
— Suffern
Also, I was asked to provide a small-school list, which I thought was more than a fair suggestion considering the different enrollments. Here’s how I rank ‘em:
Small-school top 5 (Classes B and C) —
1. Kennedy — The favorite in B as this early point in the season. Only true blemish on their record is one loss to Westlake.
2. Valhalla — Not only did the Vikings nearly shock Pelham, they shook off the loss and knocked off unbeaten Bronxville and Tuckahoe on back-to-back days. Impressive.
3. Briarcliff — The stingy Bears (3.0 runs allowed/game) have a home-and-home this week vs. Kennedy.
4. Putnam Valley — The Tigers have a 7-3 record, but all three losses (Mahopac, Ardsley, Pearl River) came at the hands of larger schools.
5. Bronxville — Broncos have a better group of wins (Rye Neck and Keio) and fared better vs. No. 2 Valhalla than Tuckahoe.
OK, that’s all for now. Let me know what you think about both polls, plus please vote in our new poll at the right.
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on Saturday, April 26th, 2008 at 12:00 am 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.
Went to Arlington,Mahopac game another tough loss in division.Nick Iunni pitched well except for that last pitch to 44 on Arlington,that happens with young pitchers. Mahopac has to start hitting and stop wasting good pitching performances. Greg Ackley showed guts getting the win. Mahopac players have to realize that even though you practice with your team you have to do extra work on your own if you want your team and yourself to excel. Let’s get it in gear before its too late.
no suprises with your top ten josh no rockland teams jj jjef arl mah ket will all play each other 3times shortly so will all the rock. aa teams so thinghs will change but mamaroneck has 12 !!!wins scarsdale mv new ro and whoever else plays in that division chalked up before game #1 begins they are a good team but if they played in either of the other aa divisions they would be in the middle of the pack last year NR & CARMEL PLAYED FOR Title I wasnot suprised teams played rougher schedules wouldnt be suprised if they meet again so lets give some RESPECT to the other squads kind of like NYC CATHOLIC BASKETBALL beating up on one another I GURANTEE youll see mamaroneck there this yearll abut only theyll be watching it will be two teams from the other leagues just calling it like i see
carmel is 10-4 -
class aa finalist- and is not in youre top 10—i understand they had 1 bad game against arlington university.but played them real tough in other two games.should be in top 10Iona Prep cannot beat any legit team without Adami on the mound. Wood bats no excuse since they lost their own tournament with metal. Another loss yesterday to Regis. John Jay has not played anyone above their league. Pelham and Iona ahead of Kennedy when they beat them both and had the game vs Mahopac disputed here. You also mention that you penalze them for not playing this week. They have already played 12 games more then most here. Time to pay attention. JJEF has proved their belonging in the top 10 while Iona does not belong. Arlington and Mam’k are very very good. Ketcham, we’ll see.
I can’t blame Mamaroneck for being in the division that they are in. It is based solely on region. That being said, the other teams in Mamaronecks division are very very weak. New Rochelle, Scarsdale, White Plains and especially Mt. Vernon are all very weak teams. The only weaker teams are probably all the Yonkers High Schools. Mamaroneck to their credit have scheduled as tough a non league schedule as possible, including nationally ranked Don Bosco.
The reason Pelham is above Kennedy is because they are hot, they have won 10 straight games… the loss to kennedy was their first game…
SS explain to me how you think Iona shouldn’t be in the top ten but stepinac should be when Iona has a better record. They are in first place in their division and have u looked at their team era its solid, and that’s not all because of 1 player.
Excellent 10 Ten!
However, factoring strength of schedule would definitely move things around a tad.
Give Mamamaroneck credit…non-league schedule is tough. They beat Arlington head-to-head.
Arlington possibly right behind Mamaroneck. They clearly have the most challenging schedule (in and out of league). Is it true that they are doing this without their big left-hander? Is he out for the season?
Kennedy also deserves kudos for a tough non-league schedule.
The JJ’s (Cross River, East Fishkill), Carmel, Ketcham have clearly chosen the easy path to the sectionals.
Stepinac is 11-2 after beating Hayes yesterday and is in 1st place in their division. Iona lost to Regis yesterday and now has 3 losses and is behind Stepinac in 2nd place.
How can you say JJEF and Carmel chose the easy way into sectionals. They play in arguably the best league in the state. For 12 straight games they play the best competition in section 1 besides mamaroneck. I don’t think that’s an easy way into sectionals.
KEEP IT REAL carmel is given by the section 12 of the toughest league games around as all other league 1-c is given-3crossovers depending on place in league last year—
this year they were scheduled with yonkers ramapo white plains(not there choice).thats 15 that are given.keep it real does any one play a 12 game league schedule like e-fishkill or carmelcarmel also plays c-north somers scarsdale pearl river.——-the teams you give kudos to; give me 12 games they play like fishkill and carmel dohow can you leave lakeland off of the bubble list? they lead their league in most categories, both offensive and pitching, and are riding a 7 game win streak
highschoolBBfan…I’m a big booster of Rockland baseball since that’s my coverage zone, but no one deserves to be on this list right now. Clarkstown South has moved to the top of my county rankings, yet the Vikes lost four straight to start the year and weren’t even ranked last week. I hope someone emerges. But as of now the Pelhams, Kennedys, Mahopacs of the world are stronger.
Just for record both Stepinac & Iona have two losses a piece in league play. Iona lost to [ Step & Regis]- Step lost to [ regis & St Rays]. Both teams have two losses in division. Tiebreaker would go to stepinac at moment because of head to head meetings. Still alot of baseball to play.
crusader you are wrong in the league iona is 9-2 after theyre loss and stepinac is 7-2 after their win. Overalls don’t matter in the division
hey anyone have any thoughts on valhallas year so far. they have been working over most of their competition so far this year and their only two losses came to pelham and yorktown. any thoughts on how far they’ll go in class C?
Valhalla has been lucky the past 2 days. The pitchers on bronxville and tuckahoe just didnt have it. Too many walks. You cut down those walks and its a different story
kennedy catholic isnt being recognized by these blogs as they should. its non league schedule is better than any in the section : somers, iona prep, pelham, st. raymonds CHSAA, mahopac, etc. AND the team BEAT ALL of the above except mahopac on that ever so disputed call. let’s give the boys their due for a change
yeah Kennedy is good, but the games are called “non league” games for a reason. Of course the underdog is going to want to win more than their “non league” competition, its just natural. Even if they see the team’s ace, he’s not throwing at 100%. Credit is given to teams that win in a very competitive league where both teams REALLY care about the game.
IT IS EASY AND SMART TO CREATE A TOUGH OUT OF LEAGUE SCHEDULE WHEN YOURE LEAGUE IS POOR AND YOU HAVE A COMPETITIVE TEAM.
i cant see how you say theyve been lucky. the bronxville game was a lot closer than it shouldve been b/c bronxville scored 6 runs in the botttom of the seventh due to 3 or 4 errors comitted by valhalla. and tuckahoe only put up 1 run against valhalla’s number 4 pitcher. a teams not going to win a game by just scoring 1 run. especially when the teams number 4 pitcher is on the hill. and tuckahoe’s supposed to be a hitting team
HSBBFAN,
if you were at the Mahopac game vs Kennedy you would have thought Mahopac had just won the State Championship. Players coaches, parents flooding the field, all of this because they won a game that they threw their #1 guy and #2 in relief but really didn’t care if they won. LOL, get over yourself. I belive Kennedy also beat Tracey from Somers, who is he , oh , their #1 I guess he wasn’t trying either. If anyone goes out and doesn’t compete at 100% they are not a player.
Give credit to each of the teams that compete above and beyound their league and challange themselves.
Iona Prep as 3 loses after yesterday. They are a very soild team on the mound, not so much at the plate.
Mam’t should be given applause for playing a tough schedule and yes, they have a very good team.
Kennedy Catholic should be in the CHSAA. After all they do recruit and have players from all over. Let’s be real, they do not belong in Section 1. Every school could be that good with players from other communities . How’s Joe doing at Maine?
Josh, or any bloggers, do you think th Haldane Blue Devils could make a good run and make sectionals this year?
SS you fail to realize that Iona only has 2 league losses not 3 like you keep saying. They are in a tie with stepinac provided stepinac gets the wins when they have an equal munber of games played.
to put jjef ahead of arlington is just bizzare. JJEF lost to suffern who arlington beat 16-0, and lost to greely who arlington beat 7-1. Also jjef beginning schedule was very easy.
tuckahoe does rip.. I guess when the game is nearly out of reach in the 1st inning it changes your mentality
stepinac beats fordham 3-2 in 8 innings at Fordham University. Alex Maruri knocks in go ahead run in 8th. Cuadardo gets win. Pitcher from Fordham pitched a great game giving up 2 runs early but got stronger as game progressed. He pitched 7 innings.
I don’t think you should factor in run differential as far as rankings go. Sometimes a team will be losing late in the game and just throw in a mop up pitcher and the score will be much worse than it is. On the flip side a team could be winning 10-2 in the 7th inning, throw in their mop up guy and win the game 10-7…. making the contest seem a lot closer than it really was. Base these things on wins only.
Arlington Fan relax. You guys are one of the top team in the section let alone the league so all will work out in the end. JJEF beat a top 10 team twice which is my guess as to why they were ONE spot ahead. As for the easier schedule you’ve got to relax. No one can predict how good a highschool team is ACTUALLY going to be year over year. Some teams this year are off a bit but others might be up. Next year is totaly different again. If you compare the schedule to last year they are consistant with team they have played many years in a row. Fox Lane Mamaroneck Suffern (lost to Avieles kid 5-4 which is no disgrace) Clarkstowns both, All quality programs OVER THE YEARS (all section 1 teams that count towards seeding at end of year) and very similar to the schedules of other team in the league. It sounds like your expectation is to drop the teams out because they are not doing well…In cross over games I believe some of the games are automatically handed out. I know you guys are smarting over the seeding debacle last year and you should. That was a disgrace! But its not the rest of the leagues falt….BTW I seem to recal a score that read 29-0 in the earlier part of the year in your favor (again, you showed up and played a team on your schedule which you were supposed to do).....1C is great and fun to watch, I hope we all don’t start slinging at each other…there’s to much quality on the field to not enjoy it all!!!! Best of luck to you all, it definately is a very class league.
I agree on Kennedy being in the CHSAA. Minimally, they should have to compete in AA. THey have kids from 12 different HS’s and they play in B. What a joke. Same goes for Lourdes.
Two of Kennedy’s best players are from Carmel. Their catcher, Corona and outfielder, Rock
Finally, some sane people agree about Kennedy. I am not as familiar with Lourdes but I would agree if the same holds true. Section 1 should look into this further. If they have a formula it needs to be recalculated.
How ‘bout them JJ Indians.
Just because kennedy is having a great year does not mean that Section 1 should “recalculate” anything. Last year, JFK did not even win their league, as they were 2nd behind Putnam Valley. Their success this year has been due to the development of many underclassmen who were on varsity last year and the year before as sophomores, as well as excellent support from first-year varsity players. Every school has gone through a year in which their talent has peaked, no matter what league they were in. ( ie. Hastings from 2 years ago, Somers from last year, and even Briarcliff from 98. Nobody complains about Kennedy having players from different districts when their football team loses to teams like Somers or Putnam Valley, or when the boy’s basketball team gets eliminated in the first round of sectionals by Pelham. Give the kennedy players and their coach some credit for putting together a great ballclub instead of whining about which players come from what areas.
What league is solomon-schecter in? I know they take players from other areas as well. Is there an All-Jewish School League that i dont know about?
Josh how many reporters, photpgraphers etc can we get at we get at the JJCR vs Keio game this week. The boys from cross river must need some stats. It’s been a while since coach scheduled “varsity opponent”. Did I just read that Kennedy beat Brewster (a) today?
Josh, how many boys are at Arlington HS, or Ketcham HS?
Easy JFK, none of those schools you mentioned can or do recruit from outside their school zones. As you know, Kennedy Catholic covers all districts. That’s the point.
Which coach?
Right, but despite the number of areas covered, it is still a relatively small high school compared to others in the section. And as far as recruiting goes, i dont see how that works in high school where there’s no money or other benefits to be given out. If anything, Kennedy has a harder time getting players because it costs an extra 5k to send a kid there. i’ve never heard of somebody being “recruited” to pay an extra 5 grand and have a longer commute to school outside their district.
The point is you and Solomon Schecter get athletes from outside of your area. Do you agree to that? Those teams that beat up on you in football do it with their own kids. Did your basketball team play up in A this year? They competed? That’s the formula. Thanks for your input. However, I’m not sold yet. Good luck this year. Unfortunately our teams will ever meet.
If they had moved up to “A” then they’re 3-0 Pelham, Somers and Brewster. Add Iona Prep and St Ray’s then there are 5. Should have beaten Mahopac too. I think all schools should be able to recruit and have their player pay an extra $7000. for the kid to go there. The Kennedy baseball budget is ”$0”. All is raised by Coach Fletcher and the team. Try having some of the others do that.
When they were a doormat all of you enjoyed the extra wins. Now that the “W” is not guaranteed there is an issue. They are not playing one team that is below them in conference unlike some of the other powerhouses LOL.
That was Section 1’s answer in hoops with Kennedy and some of the girls hoops teams that were tough to beat. Actually Kennedy basketball did well this year losing to Pelham in sectionals. Not a bad season at all. Kennedy has approx 600 students, that’s 150 per grade or a total of 150 boys in the jr and sr class. Arlington has more then 200 boys in their sr class alone.
Because parents chose to send kids to a private or religous school for various reasons is their choice. Where SCetion 1 puts them is theirs. Lourdes won the state baseball tournament in “A” in 06’. They aren’t even competitive in “A” this year. Sometimes it’s just your year.
Let’s just give each team their due and not find excuses or reasons to degrade them
Can you imagine Kennedy in “AA” with Mt Vernon, Yonkers, Lincoln, Gorton, NR and WP.
“B” is a tougher league.
Nice work Kennedy, I tip my cap. Not all schools have much of a budget either. At this point, its not the ability to play it’s the ability to get others to play. And by the way, 5K for a Catholic education is quite a deal, I wish I had children.
Can the same be said about Albertus?
I also agree that Class B is the toughest of leagues by far.
Josh:
Last year that kid Mahoney was the best catcher in the section and was the player of the year. Who are the best catchers in the section this year? I know Corona is good but what about the others?
Given a choice, parents will send their kids to the best coaching situation. That is why Fletcher has such a strong team. Is he supposed to turn them down?
That is why there is always a controversy between JJEF and Ketcham High School. They are two high schools in the same district. Somehow, Ketcham wins and JJEF does not. Is this by accident?
Therefore, every year there are kids within the JJEF lines who somehow have a relative that just happens to live in within the Ketcham lines. They want to play for the best coach.
As we blog, there is word of an up and coming player who will be attending Ketcham, while his sister attends JJEF. How is this possible?
If I had the $$, I would send my kid to Kennedy. If I had the ability to manipulate the system, I would send my kid to Ketcham. Why not?
All the Kennedy players who are Sr’s and Jr’s were all there when Menchen was the head coach not Fletcher. If Menchen had not gotten into trouble he would still be the head coach today. Parents did not send their kids to Kennedy to play for Menchen and a crappy facility. This is Fletchers 2nd year with the varsity. And yes, he has done a good job. He has also gotten the field taken care of from what I hear.
If you had the money you’d send your kid to Iona Prep, I would. Look at the facility and track record there. Iona $12K, Kennedy $7K, Ketcham, free !! The rest of the public schools, free.
There are always some funny things going on across district lines up in W Falls. Ketcham has a v good program and the head coach happens to be the ad, fund raises and has put together a quality program with great facilities. I’m sure others could also if they wanted to put the time and energy that coach does.
How can you say league “B” is the toughest… By far AA is the harder league…you look at all the schools like gorton n MV and think kennedy will do good against them but if they play in League I-C and Suffern’s league. Kennedy would be .500 give or take on a good season in those leagues. AA is by far the toughest.
Sincerely has it right about the up and coming player in Wapp. Falls who will be attending RCK instead of JJEF. He also some legacy issues as his dad, and two uncles were standouts at RCK in the past and the family preferred he play at Ketcham. But why wouldn’t a parent want his son at RCK instead of JJEF – the facility, commitment to winning,to producing college level players, and the coaching are all better at RCK than JJEF.It is like signing w /the Yankees instead of the Mets. Unless something changes in the leadership of the program at JJEF they will always play second fiddle to RCK as far as baseball is concerned.
the coach at jay e-f has done a good job; as a matter of fact he has at least two kids this year going to d-1 on scholarship. how many does rck have this year??as the coach and the ad ;the coach at rck can do a lot other coaches can not.do the kids go there for the facilities or the coach?
fletcher is a complete you know what
as for other sturdy catchers in this section: Panetta, Filauro, Corona
fletcher is a complete you know what
wats ur problem bud?
listen i-c fan is exactly right… JJEF beat up on Ketcham this year in evry sport. Infact JJef beat rck is evry single varsity sport in the fall season. When it comes to baseball ketchams coach has control over all the athletics in the school and baseball gets evrything. JJef’s AD is the girls varisty soccer coach and as far as i am concerned JJEF beats up on most teams in the section in soccer. an AD can have a big affect on the quality of the team and if RCK’s coach wasnt the AD the program would not to half as good
Ketcham has only three SR.s playing much. Kalaka at C – Hitting .600+ w/ 3 HRs in 7 games headed for D1 Lemoyne. Nardozzi at 3B going to Manhattanville – which I think has , or is about to go D2, Freyhagen, the number 1 had D1 interest, D2 offers – but is a smart kid going to a D3 school of his choice for academics where he will also play baseball. The junior class is very strong and might have 4-5 kids that will probably be candidates for D1. Panik and Ciocchi are great players – but at least some of their development is probably due to playing in the Summer for the aforementioned Fletcher. It is well-known in this district that the commitment to be a successful team from the coaching staff on down is a bit greater at RCK than JJEF – thus numerous mandatory fundraising activities that parent/player are expected to participate in. As a result the RCK facility is beautiful, and I guess might influence a kid as well. JJEF has comparable players – drawing from pretty much the same talent rich area- so why is the success at one greater than the other ? Level of commitment starting at the top and working its way down would seem to be the answer.
BBinsider – we are talking about baseball , not these other sports. I do not see any correlation in what happens in soccer and football in a given year – with what happens in baseball over a long period of time. RCK beat JJEF in football in 2006 41-0 , what did that have to do with what happened on the baseball field that year or who the A.D. was ? I don’t get it ? The RCK A.D. is doing a lot for other sports by the way. They initiated a Freshmen football team for the first time in 2007 and are showing a big commitment to improve the football program. But if the dual role of A.D./ baseball coach helps, than so be it.I think you guys are possibly making more of that than is really there.I am sure almost all of the extras that the program has – baseball clubhouse, irrigated infield, indoor facilities, annual Florida trip… come from the fundraising activites and not from the baseball budget given to them by the district.
C’mon….JJEF and Ketcham have great kids performing their best regardless of sport or program. There are many circumstances that make each sport at the respective school what it is. Most of those circumstances are out of the control of those who contribute to this blog. Most all the kids play on summer teams together and are freindly. During the school year the kids between the lines look forward to an intense contest regardless of the either teams records because of the “rivalry” aspect. Can’t we just leave it to them to play and compete with out all this other negative feedback? All’s the latest strings of comments have done is to make both schools look opinionated and selfish. Don’t take the spotlight off the kids, just let em play. They all do it pretty well!
Dutchess Fan, well said. I tip my hat to you for saying again what others have tried amongst the BS
1-c fan…
their talent alone got them to division one. the coach is terrible. i would know, i played for the guy in 2004-2006.