Ridgewood-Glendale-Middle Village-Maspeth LL: Coach Tom's 'K' Korner
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HOT!... And Down Right Controversal..
That's Coach Tom's 'K' Korner....
UPDATE: June 28, 2007 Congratulations to RGMVM alumni Krystil Hofmann, who was named All-City for softball by the CHSAA. She was also named Queens Softball Player of the Year by the Queens Courier. All of this is impressive enough, but what is most impressive is Krystil just completed her season at St. Francis Prep and is a Junior!!
Great things are still to come for the 2007/08 senior to be! Congratulations to Krystil for this significant achievement. Krystil says it was playing for me and her dad in the Instructional Division 10 years ago that made her the player she is today. Well, she didnt exactly acknowledge that but she did admit her father and I coached her at one time.
Congratulations also goes out to other RGMVM products who made the list:
ALL-CITY BASEBALL CHSAA TEAM:
IF/P Dennis O'Grady, Molloy, Sr., IF Ian Leisenheimer, Holy Cross, Sr. HONORABLE MENTION IF Justin Leisenheimer, Holy Cross, Sr.; P Bobby Tesseyman, Christ the King.
ALL-CITY SOFTBALL CHSAA TEAM:
P Kayley Ferran, Molloy, Sr. Molloy's rock this season recorded a 1.85 ERA and helped lead Stanners to their first-ever CHSAA diocesan and city titles.
RGMVM is proud of these players who have gone on to great things.. Look for other RGMVM stars in the near future, as the league is full of future baseball and softball all-stars....
Who is the only pitcher to win a World Series game in three different decades? Hint: it was the 60s, 70s, & 80,s. Answer below.
Great food and even better prices at Carmines Pizzeria in Greenpoint Brooklyn. Dont be fooled by the word "pizzeria"...this place can cook, serves beer and wine, and is a great find, although some Mets stuff on the walls would make for a nicer atmosphere (too much Yankee stuff). Fortuanto's is right around the corner for coffee or dessert.
Phyllis Durante wanted to know why I didn't list the names of the kids who I mentioned play large roles on their high school teams. That would leave out to many players I may miss, I said to Phyllis, whose son plays catcher for Prep. If I mention your son, I said to Sal Melito, whose son stars at shortstop for CK, I would have to mention Tableman at Cross. I told Fessler I know their son pitches for Prep, but then what about Nacer and Reda at Prep, Moncino and Hines at Molloy, Kobetish at CK, and Cloonen and Fox at McClancy?? I refuse to go down that path so Phyllis, just read the column here and please offer me no advice.
The pitch count rule, allowing only 85 pitches per game with certain rest requirements, is really working well, with no arguments amongst the coaches like I thought would happen. Most of the games so far, halfway through the season have been pretty competitive. I have heard of many one-run games, which is fun for everyone involved.
Als Giants are once again on a roll at the midway point of the season. The teams record over the years with Al coaching rivals the Globetrotters. Although the cast of characters changes each year, to be a Giant means you must hit the ball.
Its too bad RGMVM does not have a 90 foot diamond, similar to Rockaway. Seeing old familiar faces at Juniper the other day was fun and it would be great to be able to keep everyone together as the kids get older. Unless of course you have the above mentioned Phyllis, who has done a wonderful job of keeping us all together, so we can go to dinner and talk about when our older children played Little League and only hit home runs, & never made any errors.
The Orange Cafe as mentioned before under new management, does serve a nice drink and is a great place to stop and hang out while shopping or going to the movies at Atlas.
Trivia Answer: Jim Palmer, Baltimore Orioles.
OLD FOX TALES:
As I watched high school games this week involving McClancy, St. Francis Prep, and Christ the King, it was a great compliment to RGMVM that so many players in those games are from RGMVM. Not just players making the team either, but players playing significant roles, like the #1 and #3 hitters for McClancy, the #2, #4, and closer for CK, and the #3, #4, and #6 hitters for Prep. I am sure I missed other players too, as they continue to get older and change while I stay the same.
Great trivia question heard on the radio the other day: What two managers, managing today, played for Joe Torre? Hint: it is a trick question. Answer below.
Restaurant review: Manor Ocktoberfest, new at Atlas, gets only a small passing grade here. Yes it¡¯s inexpensive, but it is tight sitting there. Orange CafîZs under new management, worth another look.
I say this every year, but it is worth repeating: CYO cancelled all games until Thursday, after Sundays heavy rain. RGMVM played games on a perfect field on Tuesday night. Amazing...
The pitch count for Little League seems to be working well. No arguments over the first week and a good rule.
It shows you how great Mariano Rivera is when it is so shocking to see him blow a save or allow a home-run. How many other closers can you say that about? The answer is none. And is everyone really concerned about Jeter¡¯s errors? He will probably go 40 straight games before he makes another one but the newspapers need to fill space.
Trivia answer: Ron Gardenhire, who played for Joe with the Mets, and¡..Joe Torre, as Joe was player/manager with the Mets in 1977, I believe. Joe was a great player but naturally terrible with the Mets since he was at the end of his career, and turned into a good manager but naturally terrible with the Mets since he was at the beginning of his career!Attention All Managers:
Please make sure all managers read the new pitching rules for all age groups, all divisions. Little League has instituted pitch count limits in all divisions for 2007.
More info can be read at www.littleleague.org . There will be formal meetings before the all drafts with the Divison Heads to bring the managers up to date with this all new and important pitching rule change....................................
Belated congratulations are in order for our 2006 Minor Division Boys, who went as far as any team in RGMVM history ever has, falling one game short of the State championship.
Restaurant review: Osteria Gelsi, 38th street and 9th avenue. Great Italian food, moderately priced. A real find before an MSG event. Also close to the Garden is Staghorn, a wonderful steakhouse on 36th between 8th and 9th. Top of the line steaks but also try the Chicken Martini (it is food, not a drink). Of course, it is hard to leave Queens these days to eat, with so many good places right near us like Shiro of Japan (excellent, Atlas park), Pasticcio (Atlas again, great food, beautiful place), Barosa on Woodhaven Blvd. and RGMVM's very own Rich Lanigan's "R" Bar, in Maspeth, for some great wings, beers, and the game always on one of the many TV's. These places mentioned are always great before or after a game.
After attending a recent Rod Stewart concert, I had the pleasure of meeting Clive Davis (record producer, producer of American idol). I gave Mr. Davis my opinion on the kind of music I would prefer Rod record, as well as some changes I would like to see on American Idol. Mr. Davis smiled politely before I was escorted away. Celebrity sightings: Tony Danza at Staghorn, alone and not in a very good mood. Sean Penn signing autographs at Gallagher's Steakhouse.
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Thursday, January 18
Old Fox Tales.....
Fox Tales From The Vault:
Next year, Little League baseball mandates 85 pitches per game as a maximum for any pitcher. Pitchers must be removed at that time. That should be fun to enforce, as coaches compare books and count pitches. I was questioned about being a stickler for rules during a playoff game. If a rule is on the books, both teams should adhere to it. Simple as that. One question that merits consideration during the playoffs: If a team continually shows up with 9-10 players, while the other teams play 14, should the team with only 10 be penalized? I know there are legit reasons, but year after year it seems to be the same teams who manage to be missing 4 of their lesser players, never the star
Restaurant Pick: JT's, Hampton Bays. Burgers, steaks, beers, fries, all at downright cheap pricing. The food is great, in a very un-hampton like atmosphere. Soon to be reviewed: "R" Bar, owned by RGMVM's own Rich Lanigan, in Maspeth. I know the beers are cold as I attempted an early review as a service to the readers of this space. Unfortunately, the restaurant was still under construction so I was only able to sample the bar. I did a great job sampling too.
Fox Tales Archive :
OK, OK. The minute I write about how dominate Al's Giants are, those Mets defeat the Giants. Several people reading this column have made me promise to write this. On another note, Al's Giants were missing several key players from a recent game against the Mets. Do I hear rematch? After 3 days of rain, 4.5 inches in Central park, I arrive at the field early to help cleanup to hopefully play a game, and the field is almost in perfect condition without anyone touching it. Yeah, everyone has complaints, but those fields are great. We played Saturday after the all night rain; CYO needed to cancel 4 straight days of games! Must credit the umpires too.....anyone playing in other leagues knows RGMVM umps are mostly all good, even the new kids. The parade just ended it seems and the playoffs are upon us.
Restaurant talk: 21 Club, which is located at 21 West 52nd street. During prohibition, they used to sneak drinks in their cellar. In later years, movie stars used to dine in the infamous cellar so as not to be disturbed by regular folks or just not to be seen. Legend has it Sinatra and Jackie O used to meet there in the cellar. Anyway, food is good, price is like any other place in Manhattan, but you do feel good being there. Fox Trivia: There are 7 players in ML history with 400 home runs, a lifetime average of .300 or better, and have never struck out more than 100x in a season. Name them. Answer below. The league continues to have mostly competitive games. The one team running away with it all appears to be Al's Giants, in the Instructional Division! They are quite a force and may actually challenge a few Rookie squads. Al, Judy, and coaches have spent numerous hours at practices and before games and the results are these young boys and girls can hit and field.
Congratulations to Allen Watson, former RGMVM star (and, oh yeah, Major Leaguer), who has his Christ the King varsity team winning games and competing every day for the first time in a few years.
Restaurant pick of the week: With Memorial Day approaching, we venture out to the Hampton Bays, for a great Italian place called Villa Paul. This place is worthy of being in NYC. Great food, fair pricing, and great crowds. Make reservations!
Victor Zambrano seems like a nice guy. Too bad he got traded for Kazmir, too bad about his elbow. Met fans can be jerks sometimes. Boo lack of hustle, boo lack of effort, but don't boo lack of performance. These guys playing pro ball are better than you could ever dream about. Trivia Answer: Babe Ruth, Lou Gherig, Stan Musial, Hank Aaron, Mel Ott, Ted Williams, and Mike Piazza.
best day of the season, they were rained out against the Cardinals.
The Mets would go on to lose a record 120 games.
The coaches of last years Anaconda team honored their bet with the coaches from AMEF by taking them to dinner, 9 months after Anaconda lost the World Series in the Minor Division, 2 games to 1. Anaconda coaches were very well versed in the wine selection, as the AMEF coaches did not have a clue so there, take your championship
but at least we know wine!!!
Lets not anoint my Mets World Series champions yet. Lets at least get out of April! Seriously, the season is so long, with so many twists and turns, it is ridiculous to read too much into one month of the season. Had drinks with Michael Kay, Yankee announcer, a few times over the last few weeks. Great guy, despite the team he announces for. Another great guy is Walt Clyde Frazier, who I enjoyed spending a couple of hours with two months ago. Walt said if he were playing today against someone like Allen Iverson, he would post him and toast him, because Allen is a little man. One last sports celebrity I occasionally run into: Rod Gilbert. I am not a hockey fan so I think we get along because I never talk to him about hockey!
RGMVM Little League continues to see competitive games at all levels. This is due to the new draft rules, which allows coaches to only protect three players from the previous years team and subject the remaining players to the draft.
Trivia: Who was the winning pitcher in game 7 of the 1955 World Series, giving Brooklyn their only world championship?
Answer: Johnny Podres, who in later years was a pitching coach in the major leagues. His "out" pitch was a changeup, which he taught to many major leaguers over the years. He now lives in upstate NY.
The first week of Little League is complete and early indications are the new draft rules work, as each team seems fairly even with the others.This should mean more competetive games, which is good for the kids, good for the umpires, and good for the parents as it is tough to watch, play, or umpire in 23-0 games.
I know Billy Wagner is great, I know outside of Mariano he is the best around, I know it is early, and I hope I am wrong, but........anyone notice he is "only" hitting 91 on the radar gun? This for a guy who has an electric 97-100 mile fastball usually. I hope this isn't more Met luck at work (see Ellis Valentine, George Foster, Bobby Bonilla, Roberto Alomar, etc.).
And what's up with Jorge Julio? Armando Benitez all over again. Personally, I liked Mrs. Benson and would have kept her husband Kris too. He can pitch;
Julio looks like he never will learn.
The Yankees? As a Mets fan, I hate Derek Jeter, which is the highest praise he can ever receive. He is truly a great player we have the privelage of watching, and until he retires, I am doomed to Yankee greatness, I fear. He is getting older though sometimes I think he made a deal with the devil, like in Damn Yankees, only he made it for a lifetime, not one year.
Restaurant picks of the week: We expand to Manhattan for the first column of the year, so here you go: Il Tinello, 16 W 56th street, the best food I have ever eaten. The tab will run
two people about $250, but go, tell Mario I sent you. The other place is Baldoria, on 8th avenue and 49th street. Baldoria is owned by the son of the owner of Rao's, a famous place in Harlem. Again, great Italian food. OK, locally I still love Barosa on Woodhaven Blvd.
Baseball, spring, opening day parade, renewing old acquaintences, I love it......of course, us managers will be arguing by Monday night with each other!!
Thanks to the schedule makers for giving me the first night game of the year. Should be 37 degrees, with a nice wind blowing in. I know you are all out to get me and my team!
Parents, as you read this, remmber to sign up for field duty. You know who you are, trying to skip this process. Now you have been caught. So sign up.
The Woodhaven House has great bands on Friday and Saturday nights after 11 PM. Go and listen.....hey, I can't be at the field that late anyway, and the one time I slept I got the first night game of the year!
I have 6 left-handers on my team, which I am partial to since I am also one. I may field an all-lefty infield one of these games, just for fun.
The draft was fun this year as always, but my friend Russell Deck should never be allowed to rate his players again! Russell, when a player is a nine,
that is written like this: 9. Not like this: 19.
Once again, a couple of us (Fessler, Lanigan & me) solved all league and world problems that draft night by speaking for hours after the draft at the Wolfs Den. We felt there were many problems so we spoke and spoke and.......well, I had sick days coming to me anyway, so it wasnt a big deal.
Let's play ball!