As Braves Brewers Cardinals Cubs Dodgers Indians Mariners Orioles Phillies Red Sox Tigers
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| As | |
| Team Captain: | Steve Halzel, Email Steve Erik Mayo, Email Erik |
| Home Field: | TBD |
| Team website: | NA |
| Roster: | Roster |
| Highlights: | The As joined the league in the 2009 season. |
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| Braves | |
| Team Captain: | Rich Moran, Email Rich |
| Home Field: | Memorial Park, Millis |
| Team website: | NA |
| Roster: | Roster |
| Highlights: | The 2009 Millis Braves look to bounce back after 2 lackluster and mediocre seasons and hope to return to their
customary power teams of 2000-2006. With several key veterans returning mixed in with a few offseason acquisitions,
the Braves look to move up in the National League standings this summer.
The Braves are led on and off the field by manager Rich Moran. This is the 13th year of the Braves and Moran is back at the helm for the 13th time. Being in charge of a team in this league is a thankless task, yet Moran does it well. Over the years, Moran has had his role change on the team due to various team needs. A once team ace on the hill, Moran provides depth on the hill this year and returns to his role as #1 catcher. Leading the Braves this year are a series of team veterans. CF Dale Bickford is back patrolling the outfield and leading off for the Braves. Bickford might be the fastest player in the league and gets on base with the best of them. SS Mike Pietila, probably the best all around Brave, is back to bat behind Bickford, spray linedrives all over the yard and gobble up all the grounders hit his way. Pietila is a heady, smart player. TJ May is back with his intense plate presence, no one works a pitcher like TJ. May plays all over the field including catcher, infield and outfield. John Fantasia, the team's best RBI man is back playing first base and outfield. Johnny Fan is a great situational hitter and does a great job making sure the table setters don't get stranded. Raul Matos and Mike Londergan are back this year to help the Braves. Both outfielders provide excellent flexibility in the outfield and timely hitting at the dish. This is Londergan's 10th year as a Brave and Matos' 8th. Both will be counted on heavily this year. Second year man Justin Peterson is back this year. Mainly an outfielder who can also play some 3rd base, Peterson has made great strides in the offseason with his swing and has been a force so far this season. Justin's brother Toby has joined the Braves this year and gives the Bravos excellent flexibility around the diamond and a nice bat! Flexibility was a key in the offseason for the Braves and they found plenty of it with the offseason acquisitions of Jamie Nix, Mike Connolly and Kevin Specter. Nix was one of the top pitchers in the league for several years, slots right into the cleanup role for the Braves with his power and helps on the left side of the infield and outfield. Nix will pitch many big innings for the Braves this year with his power stuff. Connolly can fly and is an excellent line drive hitter. He is truly a 9 position guy, above average anywhere you put him. He is a key addition for the Braves. Specter is an excellent infielder with a great arm and a smart, disciplined plate approach who will fill key roles all season. Big Steve Purdy is back this season after a 4 year hiatus. The once Braves closer is back and better than ever. He struck out the side in his first appearance this year. Purdy also brings another power bat to the middle of the order and provides depth at first base. The Braves also return another original Brave from the inaugural 1997 season. Pitcher and outfielder Jim Callaghan is back for a 13th season. A team ace for many years, Callaghan finally worked his way back to pitching last year after a 3 year struggle with shoulder problems and he won 7 games for the Braves. His arm seems sound again this year and he brings a solid bat to the 3 hole in the order with his foul line to foul line slashing. Nix, Callaghan, Purdy and Moran will likely do most of the pitching this year, the Braves have not had this kind of depth on the hill for a long time. The Braves will hope to get some help during the season from 3 part-time guys. MSBL Hall of Famer Marc Sanfacon will be back to help anchor the infield and provide a steady presence all around. 10 year veteran Jimmy McLaughlin hopes to come back from injury and sickness to provide his signature power bat. And, former team MVP Christo Lagos will be back to lend his infectious awesome attitude and unbelievable skills all over the field. With 2 straight years of no playoffs, Moran and the Braves are hoping that the offseason additions will get them on track to make a return to the playoffs in 2009. The team will miss an original "cornerstone" from the early days in CF Paul "Chip" Chiodo who has decided to hang up the spikes this year. Chiodo is at or near the top in many all time Braves categories including outfield assists, runs, triples and stolen bases. He will be missed greatly. |
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| Brewers | |
| Team Captain: | Lionel Hamilton, Email Lionel |
| Home Field: | Wayland High JV Field |
| Team website: | NA |
| Roster: | Roster |
| Highlights: | The Brewers entered the Middlesex MSBL in 1997. 1999 was one of the Brewers best seasons as they pulled a feat no other team in the league has done, win a regular season series against the Orioles. The Brewers handed the Orioles their only two losses of 1999! |
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| Cardinals | |
| Team Captain: | Andrew Calkins, Email Andrew |
| Home Field: | Sauta Field, Hudson |
| Team website: | NA |
| Roster: | Roster |
| Highlights: | The Hudson Cardinals continue to be one of the most competitive teams in our League. We are also a lot of fun to play for. The Cardinals are a group of guys that want to have fun and also want to win. If you have some college level playing experience, then give Matt a shout via email. |
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| Cubs | |
| Team Captain: | Rich Schwarz, Email Rich |
| Home Field: | Mooney Field, Southboro |
| Team website: | Cubs Website |
| Team stats: | Team Stats |
| Roster: | Roster |
| Highlights: | The Cubs joined the Middlesex MSBL in 1996. The Cubs repeated as
league champions in 2009 to pick up their third title. The Cubs also won the league title in 1998 and remain
the only National League team to win the title.
The Cubs reached the first seven National League Championships the league had, 1997-2003. In 5 of those 7 seasons the Cubs have reached the League Finals. The Cubs held the best regular season record in the National League in 1997, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008. In 2001, the Cubs played their 100th regular season game, a thrilling 11-10 comeback, extra inning win! On 6/24/07, the Cubs played their 200th regular season game and overcame a 4th inning 7-1 deficit to win 11-7! |
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| Dodgers | |
| Team Captain: | Eric Niccoli, Email Eric |
| Home Field: | TBD |
| Team website: | NA |
| Roster: | Roster |
| Highlights: | The Dodgers joined the league as an expansion team in the 2007 season. They are coming off two solid seasons, finishing 8-8 in 2007 and 9-8 in 2008, making it to the second round in the playoffs both seasons. The Dodgers will be looking for another playoff bid this year, and maybe even to finally get a win against the pesky Cubs. The Dodgers will carry the same 14 man roster as 2008, but are making some positional moves in 2009. 3B Jeff Paquette will get time behind the dish this year, 1B Ben Campbell and C Nate MacLeod will see more action at 3B, Util man Nate Nagy will primarily be roaming the OF, and veteran Rodney German will be making the move from 3B to 2B. |
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| Indians | |
| Team Captain: | Mike Richards, Email Mike |
| Home Field: | Bauks Field, Marlboro High School |
| Team website: | NA |
| Team stats: | 2009 Team Stats
2008 Team Stats 2007 Team Stats 2006 Team Stats 2005 Team Stats |
| Roster: | Roster |
| Highlights: |
The Indians entered the Middlesex MSBL in 1997. The base of the Indians team came from the disbanded
Tigers team.
Larry Rosoff replaced Mike Kelly as player/manager of the Indians in 1999. The team won five games that season, equaling the combined total of the previous two years. The Tribe continued to improve and make the playoffs over the next three seasons, winning seven games in 2000, eight in 2001 and 10 in 2002 as they finished in second place in the American League. In 2002 the Indians recorded their first-ever playoff victory in defeating the Mariners, and nearly upset the undefeated league champion Orioles in the second game of the divisional finals. In 2003, the Indians recorded their best regular season record to date, finishing 14-4. That was good for second place in the American League, two games behind the Orioles. The season finished on a disappointing note, however, as the third-place Mariners bounced the Tribe in the first round of the playoffs. The Indians finished an even .500 in 2004 and 2005 (9-9 both years) and lost to the Red Sox in the first round of the playoffs each season. In 2006, legendary manager Larry Rosoff handed over the reins to a triumvirate of veteran players – Craig Macauley, Mike Togneri, and Jerry Guerra. After a disappointing regular season, the Tribe dropped a 2-0 first-round elimination playoff game to eventual league champion Red Sox, leaving the bases loaded in the ninth inning. In 2007, the Indians returned to their mediocre regular-season ways with an 8-8 record, good for fourth in the American League. After a stunning upset of the 12-3 Orioles in the first round, the Indians fell in a doubleheader sweep to the eventual champion Red Sox. The Tribe welcomes three new players –Christian Gonzalez, Eric Holmes, and Jim Rooney – to the fold in 2008. |
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| Mariners | |
| Team Captain: | Chris Shea, Email Chris |
| Home Field: | Holliston High |
| Team website: | Mariners Website |
| Roster: | Roster |
| Highlights: | The Holliston Mariners joined the Metro West ABL in 2000 as an expansion team consisting of former Braves members. In 2000-2001, known
as the Milford Mariners due to the domicile of the team founders, the team had no home field facility. In 2002, the Mariners obtained Holliston High School as their primary home field and officially became known as the Holliston Mariners.
As an expansion team, the Mariners struggled to a 4-14 record their first year, with only 2 wins coming on the field. A steady improvement to 6-11 in 2001 and 7-11 in 2002 saw the Mariners reach the playoffs in their third year. A close first round loss to a tough Indians team ended an otherwise superb year. With a similar record in 2003, the Mariners again made the playoffs and this time made it to the American League Championship Series where they lost two close contests to the eventual champion Orioles. Team accomplishments: 18-0 in outlasting opponents in post game revelry. |
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| Orioles | |
| Team Captain: | Carlo Galvani, Email Carlo Stan Pulnik, Email Stan |
| Home Field: | Long's Field, Framingham |
| Team website: | NA |
| Roster: | Roster |
| Highlights: |
The Framingham Orioles, 9 time league champions, are back and hungry for an unprecedented 10th title. "The Cubs played better
than we did in the finals last year and deserved to win it." "They made the key plays and we didn't when we needed to." Said
third baseman, Chris Currie.
We are led by the veteran leadership of the Galvani Brothers, Carlo, Tom, Bob and on occasion John. All of the Galvani's play significant roles on the team and they know how to win titles that's for sure. Dick Scullary, the 68 year old machine and oldest player in the history of over 30 baseball, is back. Dickie will be able to hit, even from his casket! Jeff Merzel will lead the pitching staff as he typically does along with the youngster of the squad, Dave Jaffe. Chris Currie, 3B and Al Dayhoff our catcher round out the rest of the infield along with the new papa, Mark Knowlton. Aubrey "The Fitness Guru" Doyle will continue to lead our outfield and Mark Muntz and William Garnett add overall depth to the team. The Orioles have a few additions to the 2009 squad. Steve DeFusco brings a big bat, youth and a great arm to the team, Dave Gagin brings speed and a solid bat to our lineup. Tom Fullen with bring balance and depth to our pitching rotation and Chris Swanecamp adds infield depth, solid overall play and toughness. |
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| Phillies | |
| Team Captain: | Rick Huckins, Email Rick |
| Home Field: | Medway High School |
| Team website: | Phillies Website |
| Roster: | Roster |
| Highlights: | The Phillies entered the league in 1996. 2001 was the best season ever for the Phillies who ended the regular season at 12-6 with the best record in the National League. The Phillies went on to win the National League title and play the Orioles in the League Championships. |
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| Red Sox | |
| Team Captain: | Chris Cronin, Email Chris |
| Home Field: | Ashland High School |
| Team website: | Red Sox Website |
| Roster: | Roster |
| Highlights: |
Last year's Red Sox tied for first but were summarily dispatched by the Worcester White Sox in the playoffs.
Manager Steve Saraceno (two titles coaching Ashland, six as a player in the MetroWest League) made several
offseason changes. "It had to be done," he says grimly.
PITCHING: Former Boston Red Sox farmhand Eric Cormier returns for a full season. Helping out will be Manager Saraceno, fast approaching 100 pitching wins in the league. Steve Triveri and John Badaracco will also see hill time. "You gotta throw strikes," Saraceno says grimly. CATCHING: Perennial All-Star Brent McKenzie is back for his sixth MetroWest campaign. Rookie Scott van Raalten should help with a strong bat. "Catching is a tough position," Saraceno says grimly. "You break a lot of fingers." FIRST BASE: Triveri gets the nod when not playing elsewhere. Big newcomer Mike Leach should bring added power to the position. Six-year vet Vic Saraceno is also available. "The man is my brother," Saraceno says grimly. SECOND BASE: Ex-Sudbury Tiger Chris Parlante, sophomore Bobby Modica, shortstop Mike Auren, and former Texas Ranger farmhand Ron Russell all can play second. "If the baserunner doesn't slide," Saraceno says grimly, "throw it at his head." SHORTSTOP: Three-year vet Auren starts. Parlante and Russell will log time there. "A good shortstop takes no sh-- from nobody," Saraceno says with a wild gleam in his eye. THIRD BASE: Russell, Parlante, Triveri, and Steve Saraceno -- in that order. "Block it like a catcher and throw the bum out," he instructs grimly. RIGHT FIELD: The sole remaining member of the original Ashland Red Sox, Chris Cronin enjoyed a career year in 2008. Rookie Jim Gavagan and superstar Brian Farrell boast sunfield credentials as well. "You better throw it to the right base," Saraceno threatens. CENTERFIELD: People say John Badaracco is the best player in the league. "And some people say I'm the best player in the league," Saraceno says grimly. LEFTFIELD: Brian Farrell took a while to recover from his knee injury in the 2006 championship game. Last year he hit only .458 with a .792 slugging percentage. "That's insane!" Saraceno screams. PREDICTION: Saraceno chuckles. "If there's a schedule we'll play it," he says. |
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| Tigers | |
| Team Captain: | Joe Dervin, Email Joe |
| Home Field: | Feeley Field, Sudbury |
| Team website: | Tigers Website |
| Roster: | Roster |
| Highlights: | The Tigers changed their name from the Yankees in the 2007 season. The Yankees are an original Middlesex MSBL team. The Yankees won the league championship in 1995. |
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