Top 10, May 12
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- May
- 12
(UPDATE 6:16 p.m. — Bubble-team poll has been updated)
This one was tough. Ketcham dropped two, muddying the League I-C waters. John Jay (CR) continued to go unchallenged, outside of an 11-3 win over not-Top 10 Scarsdale. Kennedy kept shutting teams down, stating its case to move up the board. So did Pelham.
This is a big week with all the rivalry games. If you want to see my predictions and add some of your own, here’s our thread on rivalry week.
It’s tough, but here’s our new poll. Rip it if you must…
1. Mamaroneck — Returned to form with back-to-back wins over New Ro, and a thrashing of Section 2’s Columbia. The Tigers play two on Saturday, first against Scarsdale in a League I-A game, then at Clarkstown South at night. Sean Hagan will likely take the mound in the nightcap.
2. Stepinac — For the Crusaders, it all comes down to Wednesday when they host Iona. It always seems to end this way. … Obviously, placing second the division isn’t the end of the world, but, as I’ve said before, the No. 1 seed out of each division gets a major leg up in the CHSAA playoffs.
3. Iona Prep — Here’s the situation: If Iona wins out, it wins the division. The Gaels currently hold a 1/2-game lead over Stepinac. However, Stepinac is slated to play Mount today, which is tough, but Iona is scheduled to face 9-3 Monsignor Farrell tomorrow. Considering Adami will pitch Wednesday, tomorrow’s game will be difficult. We’ll have a better idea of just how important Wednesday’s showdown is after the games are played the next two days.
4. Ketcham — The Indians suffered their first two losses last week, but I’m not going to drown them. Overall, their still atop the league race, and at least with the Mahopac loss they bounced back and won the next one. That said, their schedule is tough this week in the section’s most unrelenting league.
T5. John Jay-EF, Mahopac, Arlington — There’s no difference right now between these three. JJEF beat Mahopac in 2 of 3 but dropped 2 of 3 to Arlington. Mahopac beat Arlington 2 of 3 but lost the series to JJEF. Arlington beat JJEF in 2 of 3 but lost its series with Mahopac. You get the idea?
8. Clarkstown South — After winning 12 straight, the Vikings had the week off. It was well-earned, but it will heat right up today (weather permitting) against Suffern. Jake has deemed this Rockland’s game of the year (so far).
9. Pelham — A reader said it best over the weekend. “Make it 15 in a row for Pelham.” That’s a heck of a winning streak, no matter who your team’s facing.
10. Kennedy — I really wanted to bump the Gaels up the board this week, but I couldn’t find a way to do it. Honestly, the teams ahead of them haven’t really cracked yet, which makes it hard.
Dropped out — I thought Arlington deserved to move in after beat JJEF – clearly a top 10 team – in back-to-back games, and I had no other choice then to penalize John Jay. My crack research staff (Jake) noted that the Indians haven’t beaten one strong team all season. Their sweep of Fox Lane has been diminished with the Foxes’ struggles, leaving last week’s win over Scarsdale as their best all season. That’s not enough to keep them in the poll.
On deck:
— John Jay
— Suffern
— RCDS
— Lakeland
— Carmel (hanging on by a thread, but need to show something against Mahopac this week)
Small-school Top 5 (Classes B, C, and privates):
1. Kennedy — The best by far. (I’ll post my thoughts on this later that didn’t make it onto the show.)
2. RCDS — Wins over Rye Neck and Briarcliff prove this team plays around a high Class B level.
3. Nanuet — As Jake wrote yesterday, this team has been mashing. The Golden Knights may be Kennedy’s most dangerous threat in Class B.
4. Rye Neck — This is a hot team. The Panthers have won seven of eight, including victories over Keio and Valhalla. That’s enough to earn them this spot.
T5. Briarcliff and Putnam Valley — They split and have about the same record, so they’ll split this spot, too.
This entry was posted
on Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 12:02 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.
Great job on the T-5 Mahopac, JJEF, Arlington! That is an accurate assessment.
Also, you are right-on about JJCR. Who are these teams that they play? KEIO? MONTFORT? BYRAM HILLS? And, my favorite, UNNAMED VARSITY OPPONENT? The total score of these four games were 60-5, combined!!!
They have outscored their opponents 162-40. They are either the best High School baseball team ever, or they are playing the worst. I am sure that they are very good ballplayers, but the coach is NOT doing them any favors.
If Green is what everyone says he is, then they CAN beat anyone in the TOP TEN, on any given day. But how can we be WOWED! by any of their individual stats.
At least schools like Kennedy try and play high level teams…outside of an easy Conference.
Four out of Top 7 are from League I-C! And Carmel is on the bubble! These are quality baseball teams…pitching, hitting, defense, and coaching!
Pelham goes 2-0 for the week and loses two spots . . . ouch !
As my son says, none of that stuff matters. Gotta get to the playoffs and gotta win !
Birdfan- your son is absolutely correct and there's little that can do done about year to year intraleague competition, but pelham has 15 wins against teams with a combined record of 99-104 and their schedule is VERY soft.
Guess we ought to be happy for rainouts then. Had we gone 4-0, we'd be out of the top ten entirely !
I dont know where else to put this info except for on this blog… brian moran, iona prep grad, is doing unbelievably well in his sophmore season at UNC: 26 apps, 37 innings, 1.22 era, 54 Ks, and holding opponents to .192 batting… hard to believe he was a walk on!!
Back to high school baseball… Lakeland v. Yorktown should be a great game tomorrow. Since both teams will be throwing their number 2 pitchers I think lakeland may pull this one out by just out-hitting yorktown. That being said, Dan Mason shut down one of the better lineups section 1 has to offer… the kid can really pitch.
hey best top 10 so far, it isn't jjcr fault that they play in the league they do, they don't get a choice that's where they are put, and so far everyone they have played in there league they have spanked and i'm sure they will continue to do so, as far as outside there league your right they haven't played anyone at no fault to the players,and as far as stats go no matter who they play they still got to go out and do the job, hit the ball field the ball and pitch the ball, and as far as i'm concerned they can do it with the best of them with green on the mound or not this is a very talented team 1 through 9, so before you pass judgement on something you haven't seen yet or know anything about watch them play than pass judgement until than your clueless on how good they really are.And as for you josh i am really surprised that you would punish a team and drop them out of the top 10 after you yourself saw what they are capable of against fox lane i don't care how down you think the foxes are jjcr gave them 2 beatens back to back in which you were quoted saying jjcr is the real deal, shame on you josh,you are suppose to know talent when you see it right? you are a sports writer covering high school baseball right?? you dropped the ball on this one josh BIG TIME.
I agree "bring it". It's ok, the poll doesn't mean didley. Let's see what happens in the playoffs. Jay has a very deep pitching staff (4 strong, plus relief) very good defense and excellent hitting 1-9.
"Bring it on"!
JJ crushes Tappan another 3rd grade team, right? After JJ wins the next 4 games against decent teams Somers and Greeley what will be excuse to not have them in the top 10? Green will most likely pitch the 1st game against Somers and the last one against Greeley. That clearly is two guaranteed wins, mostly likely shutouts in both. I guess 14-1 is not good enough…Lets see if the Gannett thinks 18-1 is enough for the top 10
well jjcr just beat tappen zee 8-0, and i believe you, josh, said that tappen zee was a great team on a tear…
Ya I guess you would say 8-1 is hot but not when you go against a team that is ranked in the top 20? Do they get that much repsect?
Look out for Greeley:
Drew Levinson is A STUD
Spencer Ross is A STUD
Dylan "Dylan St. John" St. John is A STUD
How is greely a good team they lost 19-1 to JJEF
JJ is a AA team playing in a A league. Pipe down.
its not jjcr fault what league they are in… well see come play off time, everyone will be shocked
and to please you for now… jjcr plays in the mahopac tournament saturday against mahopac
jjcr is a very good team. but i agree that they have not played anyone. the same thing with rye country day..a very good team that plays no very good teams…..you can't expect to be ranked in the top 10 with pathetically weak schedules…more wins against more lousy teams does not impress….....shame on the coaches for not scheduling top teams when they had the chance…Keio and Varsity opponent? C'mon now…....rcds could have played some better teams outside their lousy private school league also, if they really wanted to be recognized…but maybe they only are concerned with winning the ivy lrague title. which is somewhere between b anc c class baseball. jjcr will need to show us what they have got in the playoffs
Kennedy is a CHSAA team playing in public "B" league. How the hell are they in the top 10? JJCR embarassed them in a scrimage with all starters playing.
HEY JOSH
RYE NECK 4?? THEY LOST TO SOLOMON SCHECTER!! TUCKAHOE LOOKS LIKE THE MORE DESERVING CANDIDATE @ 10-3
The only reason Kennedy is in the public league is because they are to far away from all the other schools in the CHSAA iona and stepinac are the only two schools close to them and that right there is a good 30 minute drive.
Also, they are in the top ten because they played a very difficult out of league schedule including somers mahopac iona and pelham and only lost to mahopac out of those games, so i think they are deserving of it even though they don't play in the toughest league
oh stop…stepinac to JFK is a 20 minute ride up 684….JFK could play in the chsaa…remember half the games are home anyway….how long do you think it takes stepinac to get out to staten island or queens or brooklyn on school days…....jfk wants the easy route in the playoffs. they know they would get bashed year in and year out in the chsaa. nothing to do with geography. the decision ways made that they are to small to compete.
Also, if they must play public why not AA? They pull from like 12 different high schools. How is that fair to the "B" schools? JFK should absolutely dominate every year and they don't. They are playing against very small schools confined to a very small geographical area. They aree like a summer team. It makes no sense at all.
Lets' all bash JFK cause we can't beat them. For 20 years coaches like JJCR and Lakeland would schedule them because it's a guaranteed 2 wins. JJCR your schedule is a joke. Since when are Somers and Greely quality teams? not this year. What is their combined record? Your test will be in the Mahopac tournament and Sectionals where you will finally have to play vs boy's. Oh and nice win in the scrimage! That may be your only W vs a team with a winning record. Kennedy beat Arlington in a scrimage also. OH boy!
This is not the fault of the kids so all you medeling parents go complain to Mr Curtis for taking the easy way out and hurting your boys.
Iona Prep and Stepinac are schools with between 700-800 boys. Kennedy has 650 total kids with 300+ boys. They wouldn't even be in the same league as the other 2. So they put together a schedule against tough "A" and "AA" scools to compete. BTW they beat Iona and they beat St Rays so they are 2-0 vs CHSAA, not bashed.
Bring it On? Wasn't that a CHEERLEADING movie?
You should chill out…
If you read what was written, you will see that there were no disparaging words about the players. The only question is "How can we be WOWED by wins and stats with such an easy schedule?" This is a legitimate question. And your over-the-top defensiveness only confirms this…
If the coach knew what type of team he had, why didn't he schedule difficult non-league opponents? Really…if you look at the schedule, it is almost as if he went out of his way to NOT play a difficult team.
It seems that too many are conerned about ALL-SECTION stats. This goes for Kennedy parents, as well…
Yorktown vs. Lakeland tonight I expect another great game. In order for Yorktown to continue to win look for Chris Nardone to pitch. He is a lefty fireballer with a sick curve.
kennedy now has a coach who can reach out and recruit thru his summer program;how fair is that??
leage 11.. he sounds like a good coach…tell you what..why dont you coach a team over the summer and see how many would pay $6000 to play with your dumb ass when school starts
Exactly
The only player who had been with the Rangers when he had gone to Kennedy was Cornona. Others joined him later and before he had become the varsity coach. He was with the JV at the time. The Ranger kids at JJCR didn't jump over to play for him. It's only $6000.
My team, Iona has kids taking planes, trains and auto mobiles to get to school. That's why they are at the top every single year, have a great facility, travel to FL and add in great coaching and excellent JV and freshman teams. You want to play great baseball and learn, then we'll recruit you. It's only $13000. Deal?
Please
Dont make it sound like $6000.00 is some big obstacle because it isnt. Try school taxes in Scarsdale or Rye on for size. Besides these AAU Baseball teams usually run about $2500.00 for the summer season the fall is another $500 or so, throw in another $400 dollars for wood bats.
Parents that pay that just for baseball can more than afford to pay the tuition at JFK, so stop it. The fact remains if "ONE" kid is recruited disqualifies a public school team.
There is no one recruited. Parents pay this money for their kid to go to what they feel is a better place to educate their kid. There is no one going to any of these schools to play baseball. wake-up. Just incase you figured wrong, these parents that are paying the $6000-$13000 are also paying their school taxes where they live which I am sure is then more then you're paying for your scarsdale education. Many many kids from Rye opt to go to private schools, RCDS, IONA, Stepinac etc. Now figure what it costs to educate the kid.
Why is it that many of these better ball players from FL, JJCR, JJEF, IONA, Arlington, Mahopac, Kennedy and Carmel all play on these travel teams. Where are the other guys playing or are they just enjoying their summer vacation
Plain and simply, that was the most asinine comment I have ever read on one of these blogs, which, as we all know, is truly saying something. You argue the point that Curtis "took the easy way out and hurt our boys" by "scheduling teams like somers and greeley" and then went on to question their quality. If memory serves me right, I believe Somers was arguably the best team in the entire section and competed on the state level last year. In addition, I believe it's quite apparent that none of John Jay's boys are "hurt" by Geoff Curtis. If leading the section in numerous statistical categories can now be considered detrimental, I think we need to re-evaluate statistics in general. Perhaps "k mom" can come up with some sort of evaluation program…I'm sure we'd all appreciate more of your input.
You are entitled to your opinion as am I. Playing a patsy schedule has dropped you out of the top 10 and let everyone know your stats, that you guys are so proud of, don't mean "0", nada, s**t, zippo, zero becaus you have played the weakest competition that your coach could schedule. How many "AA" teams, how many top 10, even top 20? All you can boast is some scrimmage against a "B" school. I hope you do well in sectionals.
If you knew half as much as you think, you would realize as your coach should, not mant programs have quality years back to back to back. Keep that in mind when you set your schedule next year when for all arguments sake, you may be even better.
By the way, check out the "K"etcham schedule. Every year is a challange and that's why the program is where it is year in and year out. Never down for long, and players moving on.
Are you for real?
You have the nerve to talk about "STATS". This is what Best Top 10 was writing about. You have just proven the point that people like you are ONLY concerned about you're kids' STATS. They are NOT valid in the hearts and minds of true baseball fans.
You diminish the credibility of your team by your comments. Face it…the stats of JJCR are 'padded'. We all know it. This doesn't mean that the JJCR players are not very good ball players. But "STATS"...get real!
The only valid statement you make is "Maybe we should re-evaluate statistics altogether?"
Now now there boys & girls, let's play nice in the sandbox!
yorky, shhhhhhh!!!!
1-C is so competitive every team has an ace and every team can hit with anyone. All of the JJCR hype is understandable. But give the 1-C teams there do as well. Also, everyone of these teams has a D1 prospect or two
JJEF to the 4 spot after easily beating Ketcham again 9-3.
Of course a AA school like JJCR is crushing its opponents—they are playing class A or smaller schools. They have yet to prove themselves against any AA competition. No doubt their "stats" would be different if they had played a AA regular season schedule and had some competition!
You guys take these blogs way to serious. It doesn’t matter what number he has you in the polls cause obviously everyone is going to argue it just like with everything else on these blogs. No one cares if a team plays an easier schedule, we all know it. There is no need to mention it every single day. You want to mention something, say something good that a player did in a game. There are to many parents on this blog who are jealous that their kid isn’t as good as players mentioned here. GET OVER ITTTTTT.
OK, you guys have all taken this far enough. Each and every single one of you who posted a negative comment about John Jay Cross River needs to grow up. If you are a parent of a kid who plays, you should be ashamed of yourselves.What example of sportsmanship are you setting for your children? I suggest you visit ESPN online and watch the story about the college softball player with the torn ACL. THAT, MY FRIENDS… IS SPORTSMANSHIP.
If you have played against us… I believe "envy" was one of the 7 deadly sins… check with Mr. Smith, JJHS English Dept…....Perspective?????REALITY CHECK PLEASE…. these are HIGH SCHOOL KIDS!!!!!!
My only point here….. if you can't handle the fact that John Jay Cross River has been a dominant force this season, then get out of the stands, or off the field. Take a peek at the JJCR softball team, kickin' up some dust, Lax- 'nuff said…. we have some top notch athletes, training with some of the best coaches around. They work hard, they train hard, I supposed that has nothing to do with it…..
Melissa, don't embarrass us by writing this crap. Face it, we have a good team but play an absolutely terrible, weak schedule. If we don't win every game then we stink. Our field stinks, blowouts stink, schedule stinks but yes ESPN is cool and we have good lacross and softball. This is everything JJCR is perspective. If we don't win the Section (we area "AA" team plaing a "A""B" and "CD" scedule) then we stink too. Thjat is our true perspective. Our goal. No we don't belong in the top 10. We will however have 8 players make All-Section because of our stats. That's what the JJCR parents care about. Perspective
You begin by lecturing everyone on SPORTSMANSHIP…
Then you spend more time BRAGGING about how JJJCR is a "dominant force", and we should "get out of the stands" and/or "get off the field".
Is "VANITY" one of the deadly sins? Maybe we should check with Mr. Smith, JJHS English Dept?
hey melissa,
why don't you get out on the field and help carry some of the "varsity opponent" players over home plate..we know that they can't do it themselves and you would be providing SPORTSMANSHIP to otherwise untalented baseball players…
Go JJCR…rack up the stats…melissa keeps the book and can help you in any category you need, and will help your hapless opponents because of a kind heart…..some idiots are hard to quantify
JJCR parents should stop being so defensive about your team. They are obviously very good.
But also, you need to be realistic and stop talking about records and stats. By all accounts you have the easiest schedule in Section 1. Your kids should not be to blame…but take an objective look.
When you BRAG about your record and individual stats…it is not credible. Just win the SECTION 1 Championship!!!!! That is NOW the only way for you to validate the record and stats.
Unfortunately, because of the bragging and defensive nature of your comments, you are setting up the kids for a BIG DISSAPPOINTMENT.
If you want to attack me, go ahead. It doesn't change the reality of the situation.
Of course JJCR is a "dominant force" in their conference. They ARE a AA school playing all A or smaller schools!! That's not to say any other school who would be in the same spot would be as dominant—but admit it: THAT IS THE REASON THEY ARE SO DOMINANT—it's because they are playing smaller, weaker teams. Period. End of story!