New poll: Who’s the favorite to win the Bronx-Westchester?
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- March
- 25
You have all debated it. For example, one of our more understated readers said it was “a disgrace” that Mount was ranked ahead of Stepinac in our preseason poll.
Of course, facts are facts: With no Alex Maruri and Alex Adami, Stepinac and Iona Prep have Fordham Prep and Mount nipping at their cleats. Yet at the same time Stepinac is the defending champ, Iona has the tradition, and both have a pitcher with great potential who could develop into a future ace.
All in all, this division is tougher to call than ever. So…Who’s the favorite to win the Bronx-Westchester?
Vote away! And when you vote, take a second to leave a comment and tell us why you voted the way you did.
Note: This post was written in advance. I will be out of the office on Mar. 25 and 26. If you have questions, concerns or corrections, please e-mail them to either Mark Teirstein at mteirste@lohud.com or jhumenn@lohud.com. I will return on Mar. 27.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at 6:00 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.
Most of the teams seem to be evenly matched. It is going to be between Fordham and Iona.
Its gonna be tough for all the teams, but i like Stepinac in the long run. They might be young but they have players who came up big last year who are now seniors. Eddie Byrne is gonna get some key wins just like he did last year, Anthony Muccio is going to come up big on both sides just like last year, and Steve Martinez is a young superstar in the making this is a big year for him. They also have Bradshaw who must come up big but lets not get into that again. But I like Fordham and Mount also they have experience unlike Stepinac. Good Luck to everyone should be interesting.
This is Iona’s year. Team has great chemistry and 3 D-1 players.
Where is Muccio going next year anyone know? Rumor is Iona but i dont know.
Iona has no offense what so ever. They have good pitching but thats all. There gonna need alot more than that.
Mooch is going to Iona..
I see this division as wide open….I am also glad Mr Bradshaw (LoHud Scout)has left the blog. That was embarrassing. The kid has raw potential, but let’s see if he can harness that temper and his fastball before we declare him one of the best pitchers in Westchester County. Still a work in early progress and far from a polished pitcher at this level. We will soon see what he can do though.
http://www.fiveborosports.com/ssp/news?news_id=2053
The results of the poll are dead wrong so far. Look at the numbers. Look at the depth. It’s not about Adami or Maruri, or the effect they had on a team. It’s about the seniors now. Who has the depth to beat a team with a number 3 pitcher? It’ll be Mount or Fordham at the top, not Stepinac or Iona. Maybe the poll is turning out the opposite way because Mount and Fordham aren’t in Westchester and this is largely a Westchester blog.
Lets be serious here. Mount, Fordham, and Stepinac all have good teams. But the fact of the matter is Iona has the experience,leadership, and talent to put in serious work in their division. With Steven Roche and Pete Ladis I dont see there being a better 1 2 punch in the league. They have great relievers and young players who can hit. They are definitley the most feared team and their previous seasons show why.
Okay Mr. Reality here’s a little more on your boys. Steven “I-95” Roche, and “Pistol Pete” Ladis are without question the scariest to face in the league. Roche is a flame thrower and Ladis is a virtually un-hittable control freak. The question is will Roche be able to overcome his control problems (Iona will regret not developing him last year)and will Ladis’ shoulder stay healthy all year. Beyond them Iona doesn’t have anyone with Roche’s raw talent, or Ladis’experience.
Although “Pistol Pete Ladis” and “Steven I-95 Roche” get most of the attention surrounding the Iona Prep baseball team, lets not forget the young talent and relivers that have a chance to keep the team on top of the division. Be sure to take into account the plethora of junk in Dan “Garbage Man” Dilasio’s arsenal.
In my eyes these blogs contain no value at all. Let the children play and enjoy themselves. If I had to choose the best team I would pick Stepinac. Mooch and Steven Martinez are two of the best hitters in the CHSAA, not to mention the “All American” pitcher Michael Bradford. I was blessed with the opportunity to see Bradberry pitch and if he does not go 6 and 0 this year he will be a dissappointment.
Why is Bradshaw not on the Stepinac roster? Just asking. BTW Iona has 3 guys that can hit the ball out of the infield with wood bats.
Bradshaw is not on the Stepinac roster becuase he is a fraud. Im pretty sure Stepinac will be relying on the long ball alot this season becuase they move in their movable fence everytime they come up to bat.
Alright best coach of all time….(Drumroll please) Robert Cerone I mean the guy knows so much and he is so great with the kids… He did go to arizona state
wow iona has 3 guys who can hit it out of the infield thats impressive lol. By the way stop hating on the Stepinac fence, and by the way there was only 4 homeruns hit last year at Stepinac so I have no idea what ur talking about, but it was pretty funny anyway.
Besides Moran ans sullivan who are iona’s key juniors like 4 or 5 juniors that could come up big?
After hearing all this talk about Iona I did some research. John Barberzat is a returning senior who hit over 300 last year. With barberzat in the gael lineup they look somewhat decent.
Lets cut straight to the chase, enough with the gaels of Iona and the Crusaders of Stepinac. The rams of Fordham seem to me to be the best team possibly in the state. With a pitching staff that relies on their o-so talented seniors (Sal Lisante and (The Big Irish) Kenny O)they seem to be the team to beat in the lower hudson valley. Thank you. Have a good one.
RAM MAN,
U must be the dumbest person ever
first off fordham is the 4th best team in their division let alone best team in the state…that is quite possibly the dumbest comment ever. Fordham has never one a division title cause they friggin suck. they wer below .500 last year and it will be the same this year. Stepinac, no Maruri, No Good team. Mount and Iona are the best but Iona has more talented players and better younger players than Mount so Iona is the best team in this division and most people would agee with me RAM MAN
Everyone keeps saying stepinac and iona are nothing without Maruri and Adami im actually getting sick of hearing that. Stepinac and Iona have new stars lests start talkiong about them. Roche and Ladis for iona and Muccio and Martinez for stepinac. Oh yea by the way Muccio and Martinez were a main part of stepinac winning the division just like ladis last year.
Can everyone stop praising the young players on stepinac like stephen martinez…iona prep has got 2 stud players in colin moran and brian sullivan. These two, especially moran are ready to take off and have huge breakout junior seasons and will lead iona to the division title. also watch out for rich camisa. He’s a transfer from Jersey and just throws absolute cheddar with a dirty bone. He’s a special talent with a special arm, the CHSAA league will know about him shortly.
Listen I know there is all this hype bout different players and dont get me wrong some is right and some is just completely wrong but when scouts talk about this kid Rich Camisa they talk about a can’t miss prospect.. the kid has some of the most intimidating stuff you can think of.. comparable to a Stephen Strasburg…but hes has the mentality of a champion..which is why many have called him the bulldog of Iona’s Staff
This is a scouts dream…scouts love things like this where a good player they have never heard of is talked about…any more information on this kid? Also, Stephen Strasburg is one of the greatest pitching prospects in baseball history so don’t be so quick to compare a high school kid to someone like Strasburg
ya hes about 6 2 185 of ripped muscle. He throws a fastball that sits at about 92-94 with a heavy sinking action. His curveball is 11-5 rotation that ranges from 77-79 and he has a slider that is just filthy coming in at about 86. Hes developing his changeup but its getting good enough to be a legit 4th pitch.
These are all Iona kids being immature on a blog. I bet you in a couple of posts Roche will be sitting in the 110s. And Rich Camisa is probably Miguel Nunez’s cousin. Make a joke out of the blog, go ahead. It just goes to show how much of a joke your season will be. Dayahummm.
Hey truth boy,
your the joke Stepinac cant ever beat Iona in anything, Iona has one almost every division championship and has a CHSAA Championship which Stepinac doesnt, Iona is superior in academics and athletics and btw you really should shut up about your team cause they suck. Only Muccio and Martinez are decent. Bradshaw is a joke, he left Iona cause he didnt make there varsity so he cried to Stepinac. Iona is the team to beat and you and your moron team and school should shut up, stop being jealous, and lose already
Can anyone from Iona explain how you lost LJ Mazzili??? You guys trotted him and his father around like they were the Holy Family of baseball. Could it be that he tired of being coached by the likes of Ryan “The Laundryman” Mahoney and Rob “The Bread I Sell Is Smarter Than Me” Cerone??? Could it be that LJ realized you’re losers?? Now you’re talking up this kid Rich Camisa. How soon before he transfers??? Interesting how your best coach, Caputo, is coaching the freshman.
By the way, last year who won the division????
Response to You Should Where A helmet:
LJ Mazzilli was a cancer to the Iona Baseball program. You ask anyone in that program and i bet not one thing about him comes out in a positive manner. Iona is rebuilding by moving Caputo to frosh. Cerrone moved to JV. Mahoney is potentionally the best coach no one knows of, yeah maybe he does the lanudary, but lets remember where he played his college ball and where he was drafted, enough said. Anyone stupid enought to talk trash about Mahoney isn’t smart. He will soon be known very well around the league.
This is so funny i am just laughing at this conversation. Bradshaw should just get off the blog hes embarrassing himself. The Iona kids are like little fairys stop bitching just play the game and shut up.
Iona is really good in academics lol you guys cheat to the max. Like the whole basketball and football teams those kids are “real smart” im pretty sure they didnt get into the school on there own.
These blogs are a joke..lets let the play on the field talk…noone who is smart cares about or argues on these things
wow, i was kidding around about rich camisa…his fastball is in the 70s, everyone calm down.
you should wear a helmet,
Last year and thats it, Step-in-crap,and fordham are no where close to the programs iona has become neither has ever had a major leager, a CHSAA City Championship, or thats right like a billion division titles, Iona has never had a bad team and will show everyone this year that you both suck, and cant beat Iona in anything, you pathetic losers
And Bradshaw,
Stop Blogging, ur a joke and and a big baby who shud shut up before you get shut up
the real stud of iona prep is dave “roy ” ferraro
I heard tht lasorsa kid is quality garbage
Clearly you heard wrong considering the kid is a solid high school player who will prove a lot of people wrong this season..Iona Prep will do the same
how is it clear that i heard wrong
i also heard tht that kis ferito the tall doof plays like hes stevie wonder nd should have remained on the JV
first of all im gonna give the scoop about everything bx-westchester division.
1. with basically all good players returning this year mount is probably the favorite to win the division.. yes they lost their 3 4 hitters from last year but their pitching (Cardona and rivera) is good
2. after a terrible season fordham lost all of their disappointing seniors and has a deep pitching staff, possibly best in the league (Lisanti, O’Brien, Perrotta)
if their hitting can match their pitching and defense the rams will take this division
3. stepinac lost their leader and best player in maruri and has no true ace on the hill. stepinac has alot to prove but i dont see them getting higher than 3rd in this division..fordham and mount are just too strong
4. for all you Iona Gael fans..stop picking on stepinac for academics and athlettics when fordham poops on you every year.secondly the last time roche threw a strike was years ago and ladis is ur ace…you guys had no hitting last year and it will probably be the same this year…stop blogging and come hungry to play bc all the crap you guys are posting has but an X on ur backs…you guys are 4th best in the division MAYBe..salesian might even be better
those are the facts folks
spring is time for baseball and im positive all athletes will leave it on the field this year to prove who is the best