Is Class B a one-team race?
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- May
- 13
If you cover high school baseball long enough, you know it’s foolish to predict champions before the playoffs are played. Anything can happen in a one-and-done tournament, as evident by last year’s POY in Westchester/Putnam losing his first-round playoff game and our Rockland POY losing the championship on a walkoff homer.
Stuff happens. Especially with seasons on the line. 
Normally when upsets occur it’s because of pitching. The favorite runs into a hot pitcher, or lacks the pitching depth to win the deeper it gets into a tourney.
One team this year that may have antidote in its arsenal is Kennedy. To me, the Gaels, right now, are a favorite in their class above all others. More than Mamaroneck in AA. More than Pelham in A. And more than Valhalla or Keio in C.
I planned on mentioning this last Thursday on RNN but we received a few phone calls and ran out of time. It’s a little late, but here are the reasons it’s tough to dispute Kennedy’s standing as Class B kingpin:
A. Pitching, pitching and more pitching. I write pitching three times for a reason. In Ryan Tatnell, Nick Modico and Richie Lennox (right), the Gaels basically have three aces tossing up zeros on a routine basis, making them much, much, much harder to beat in the quarterfinals and semifinals of a playoff tournament. The team’s ERA is 1.64, but combined Tatnell, Modico and Lennox have an even lower mark (1.49), and have posted a combined record of 15-2 and a WHIP of 1.13.
Tatnell and Lennox each have six wins, while Modico, who’s a measly 3-1, has posted the best stats in two key categories: ERA and K/BB. The latter ratio is an incredible 44 to 5.
Look at the stats for yourself.
B. Scheduling. Kennedy has played far and away the toughest schedule of any team bound for the Class B field. The Gaels have played three of the teams in our Top 10 poll (No. 3 Iona, No. 5 Mahopac and No. 9 Pelham) and lost only one of those.
Also, they are 9-1 against Class B teams, with only one blemish, a 3-0 loss to Westlake. In those games, they have outscored those teams 74-21 and posted five shutouts, including four in the last 12 days.
C. Lack of competition. Now, I’m not discrediting the other contenders, a list that includes Nanuet, Putnam Valley, Briarcliff, Hastings, Rye Neck, Bronxville, North Salem, etc. But read those teams I just listed and tell me: Who do you like to take the trophy from Kennedy in a comparison of their resumes???
The best guess is Nanuet, a hot team that has now won five straight and seven of eight, but it appears only a near no-no from Dan Diaz or Steve Prosapio could get it done. Kennedy’s pitching is that good.
You get the final word… If you’re the fan of a Class B team, give me reasons why I’m wrong. Right now, I can’t see a reason to pick anyone but Kennedy to win a championship. The seeding meeting is two weeks from Wednesday. Perhaps a scenario will develop before then to change my mind.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 at 12:30 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 guess the real question is would they be favored to win in the CHSAA…I recognize that they are the deepest team in Class B however the whole Private School thing will earn them a Big *.
Josh
The pitching is good(not great) what separates them in Class B is the defense. The pitchers are not overpowering(very few strikeouts) but the defense has been flawless and helps rather than puts pressure on the pitching.
baseball, there is more to pitching than racking up strikeouts. If you weren't completely biased you would understand that all of kennedys pitchers are finess-style pitchers who keep hitters off balance and hit their spots. while they may not get an unbelievable amount of strikeouts, they are just as effective in getting ground balls and easy outs. There are a handful of pitchers who can get a lot of strikeouts but still not put their team in a position to win.
its so funny how people r jealous of kennedy a good year they just dont understand its going only to be a 2 year run
I think that you boys played great baseball this year. All-in-all, all the pitchers threw their greatest and you guys really showed the other teams that you could hit. Great job to everyone on the team and good luck in the sectionals
Watch out for Dobbs Ferry in B
anyone who doubts kennedys ability sure doesnt realize that Joe Rock is Christ himself. Anyone who is lucky enough to witness his pure, undying talent, instantly becomes a better person just from watching. It is true that superman in fact owns a pair of joe rock pajamas. His very tears can cure cancer… unfortunately he has never cried. I've even witnessed him eat four 72-ounce steaks in one hour, taking a 15 minute break between each one to sing lullabies to tired local children. the kid is the real deal. as many opposing players have found out the hard way… "the joe rock giveth, and the joe rock taketh away"
Best pitcher in Section 1 just shut down Carmel. MHS 4 CHS 1.
wow, i didnt know Steve Green pitches for mahopac now…..
North salem will compete with kennedy. They had a rough start getting used to a totally new team since many starters left, but they have won 5 in a row and their pitching which was horrible in the beginning is finally shaping up. Just like basketball, they're going to surprise everyone when it's most important; the playoffs.
u can not seriously say north salem can compete with kennedy. they play a terrible schedule and are only 7-6 while kennedy plays the toughest schedule of all B teams and are 17-2. they have won 11 in a row while scoring at least 10 runs in 8 of those games. not to mention the pitching staff has thrown 6 straight complete games, 4 of which were shutouts
How does the Journal News condone a blog response like that of "jfk?" How do you allow this blog to continually be the venue for slander, libel, and hate speech? You should be ashamed of yourselves. Whatever advertising money you're getting is not worth the breakdown in civility. All this does is ridicule your newspaper. The only way this will correct itself is if school districts and government officials get together to brainstorm a way to maintain the freedom of speech the blog provides but also filters out the ignorant students and/or parents that frequent the blogs.
This blog system is testament that the Journal News is an amateur newspaper at best.
Not complaining. However they do recruit, Coach F. coaching a summer team and they get players through that.
North Salem, no chance.
Great thing about high school baseball is that you never know. ie Westlake beating them.
Saw Tatnell about a week ago, wasn't as impressive as last year, when I saw him.
Watch out for the Bears!
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh rockkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
only 2 players on the entire team were associated with fletchers summer team in any way when they first came to kennedy. and even now, only 3 of them play with his team over the summer. wheres the logic?
carona / lennox and rock came to kennedy from the rangers
JFK is a very good team with few flaws.
Question for the JFK fans. Without making a value judgement, can you explain why one of the players yells "shot" after every strikeout? Haven't seen it anywhere else. Seems to detract from what is a very solid, hardworking team.
A number of teams do it, but it is not after a strikeout. It is after a called strike. It can definitely be annoying but at least it shows some chatter. Back in the 70's and 80's the infielders and outfielders talked it up the whole time and back then it was much less flattering. Not only did we root for our own pitcher the ragging on the hitters was relentless. The batter was not only ragged on for taking pitches, swinging and missing, but also if they were short, heavy, had a big nose, etc. So as annoying as "shot" is, it is not as bad as it used to be.
I beleive that the Class B race is going to be much more interesting thatn people expect. Right now Nanuet and Rye NEck have caught fire and each have two very good pitchers with the potential for an upset, Dobbs Ferry is a team that when playing well can play with anyone. Briarcliff is another dangerous team that can hit and has good pitching. Those are the four teams that I beleive can really challenge Kennedy for the title if they have good days, but Kennedy is extremely strong and when they play well they are just about unbeatable, however in high school basebqall you never know.
SOrry, I forgot to add Putnam Valley, they Consdindine(spelling) is a tremondous athlete and they are a solid contender as well
"A" well said. In baseball anyone can beat anyone. That's why we play the games. Kennedy is no lock nor is anyone else. Look at Pelham yesterday and Ketcham last week. Who ever is hot at the time will win the section. While we may think all the stars are in aalignment here, the boys better come out to play each and every game.
Throw all the stats out the window, most are BS anyway, play the game and may the hottest team win.
KC, thanks for the input. Interesting how things change. Just look at what happened at the Met game the other night when the Nats were cheering from the bench and the Met pitcher got all bent out of shape.
Joe Rock is jesus. I have seen him in action and have played with him. Corona is amazing and hits the crap out of the ball. They have a really good team and are a force to be reckoned with!!!!!!!!!!
JFK is so overated! They have no pitching at all. Modico had no idea what the plate looks like. Lenox is the luckiest kid i have ever seen. His fastball tops out at 58 mph. Rock gets cheap hits and is only good because he fast. Now to Corona. His pop time is the worst i have seen in high school, his stats are lies, he couldn't hit a beachball with a tennis racket, and his arm is like my grandmothers. JFK is a JOKE!!!!
no you're right kennedy is a joke, that's why with lennox pitching 58 mph he threw a 2 hitter against putnam valley and modico not knowing what the plate lookes like got a win with 9 k's. Not to mention corona throwing a rediculous number of baserunners out and joe rock hitting line drives at people. no no you're really right, they're a joke no doubt! how about you get ur facts straight, realize that you're just upset you lost to kennedy multiple times, and get over yourself.
usual briarcliff people taking cheap shots because there embarresed they got blown out twice…...can you guys deal with losing?.....guess not
typical briarcliff to take cheap shots at jfk just because they were embarreshed twice…...just get over it get ready for next year