MSBL to swing into 50th season

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This article was published 25/05/2010 (5870 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At this time last year, Dean McBride was talking about youth and the uncertainties that came with it.

Now? A Brandon Cloverleafs squad that was wet behind the ears in 2009 can call itself a champion and that discussion about young players adapting to senior baseball can be safely put on the backburner.

In May of 2009, McBride, in his first year as manager of the Manitoba Senior Baseball League club, knew he had a roster stacked with talented but neophytic players and the truth was he didn’t know what he was going to see that summer.

But the Cloverleafs won their third MSBL title of the past four years and, when the first pitch of the new campaign is thrown tonight, McBride will return essentially the same lineup from a year ago, making the second-year skip confident heading into the league’s 50th anniversary season.

"We’re ecstatic — and I know I said that all the time last year — with how our young guys developed," said McBride, whose team will face the Brandon Marlins at Andrews Field at 7 p.m.

"I’ve expressed to them also not to be content with that and build on this year again. … I’ve had that to where you don’t get back to a championship for 10 years or something like that. So the guys are really excited and I’m really excited about this year also."

The Cloverleafs beat the Marlins in six games in last year’s championship series and the two teams would seem to have the pieces in place to make a legitimate run again this year.

The Marlins were part of the biggest off-season storyline as veteran pitcher Matt Mutcheson signed on with the Oak River Dodgers, while Pierson product Paul Thompson — who might just be the best young pitcher in the league — left the Reston Rockets to join the Fish.

Marlins manager Jeff Wiebe — who admits to being, shall we say, a tad pessimistic at times — is excited about Thompson’s addition, but knows there’s work to do in other facets of the game.

"We’re confident in what we have but it would be nice to add maybe one more bat, but any team will say the same thing," said Wiebe, whose pitching staff will include returning starters Matt DeGagne (part-time) and 2009 MSBL rookie of the year Cody Nevins, as well as Thompson and Nevins’ teammate at Minot State University, 6-foot-4 righty Bryan Krahler. "I think up-the-middle defence is our main strength compared to other teams in the league and we’ve got good arms. And the pitching staff, even though we lost Mutch, we’ve got good live arms and DeGagne’s Mr. Change-up."

In Oak River, Mutcheson’s addition isn’t the only switch-up. Longtime manager Derek Shamray is stepping out of the dugout and handing over the day-to-day reins to Mutcheson and Nat Howard, while Shamray takes on a more administrative role and spends more time with his family. The Dodgers will once again have their share of imports and also welcome back veteran Darcy Paterson, who took a year off and should bolster the Dodgers offence.

"We’re at a crossroads where we’re either young or old, so hopefully (Mutcheson will) be one of those guys that teaches those young guys how to win," Shamray said. "… The youth program in Oak River is booming and if we can keep it going there’s lots of kids coming up. Our feeder system should be there for a while now."

While much talk was traded about the Mutcheson-to-Oak-River storyline, the Rockets too are dealing with the loss of their ace. But manager Ross Tycoles has filled the hole left by Thompson with a pair of Dickinson State alums — former NAIA all-American Tony Isbell and 2007 Dakota Athletic Conference pitcher of the year Luis Avila.

"We did want to improve our defence and our pitching from last year and I think we did," Tycoles said. "My thing is I look forward to being able to challenge. We did not a bad job last year and I think if we get some key hits then we’ll be all right."

In Neepawa, manager Garth White’s Farmers will return after an 8-12 season in 2009 and hope a small but talented pitching staff can carry the load while the rest of the lineup remains almost entirely the same as last year.

"We’re pretty much the same as last year, so it shouldn’t be too much different, I hope," White said. "We were 8-12 last year, so you always hope for a little better record than that but we had a lot of injuries last year. … We were pretty beat up and we’re hoping that doesn’t happen again."

The Farmers return imports Fernando and Roberto Rodriguez, the latter of whom was injured just before the season began but nevertheless showed signs through the season of being a reliable starter. Veteran starter Josh Loewen also returns as the ace of the staff.

"Roberto had a pretty good season and pitched pretty well, so he’ll throw quite a few innings for us and Loewen has always been a pretty good workhorse," White said.

 

 

SCOUTING REPORT

 

BRANDON CLOVERLEAFS

Manager: Dean McBride

2009 Record: 12-8, league champions

Out: None

In: None

Projected lineup: C Bryan Swaenepoel/Curtis Brolund, 1B Jamie Hodgson/Kyle Nixon, 2B Dean McBride, 3B Kevin McNeill, SS Garrett Popplestone, LF Derek Chapman/Bret Heselwood, CF Jeff Neufeld/Andrew Johnston, RF Jason Rae

Pitching staff: Sean Dryden, Justin Funk, Nixon, Heselwood, Johnston

 

BRANDON MARLINS

Manager: Jeff Wiebe

2009 Record: 13-6-1, lost in final

Out: Matt Mutcheson, Ryan Borody, Robert Doliwa (in the army)

In: Paul Thompson, Bryan Krahler, Kyle Turner

Projected lineup: C Devin Taylor, 1B Ryan Boguski, 2B Patrick Vandoorne, 3B Matt DeGagne, SS Mitch Stephens, LF Nolan Jago, CF Kyle Turner, RF Kirk Graham, DH Nate Andrews

Pitching staff: Thompson, DeGagne, Cody Nevins, Krahler, Ryan Boguski

 

NEEPAWA FARMERS

Manager: Garth White

2009 Record: 8-12, lost in semifinal

Out: Greg Hockin

In: Isaac Rodriguez

Projected lineup: C Ian Hockin, 1B Cam Tibbett/Kevin Levandoski, 2B Bryan White/Fernando Rodriguez, 3B Mark Kerkowich/Matt Lowry, SS Isaac Rodriguez/Fernando Rodriguez, LF Jason Vinnell, CF Shane Henton, RF Ty Magotiaux/Cory Hilhorst

Pitching Staff: Josh Loewen, Roberto Rodriguez, Fernando Rodriguez, Isaac Rodriguez

 

OAK RIVER DODGERS

Manager: Matt Mutcheson, Nat Howard

2009 Record: 4-16, lost preliminary round

Out: Bryan Graves, Kyle Hager, Herb Romero, Levi Saenz

In: Mutcheson, Kyle Harris, Evan Hardman, Keith Melo, Darcy Paterson, Colton Wilson

Projected lineup: C Harris, 1B Evan Hardman/Gerald Kuculym, 2B Jon Lawrence/Mark Simard, 3B Melo, SS Duncan Paddock, LF Lawrence, CF Howard, RF Al Martin

Pitching staff: Mutcheson, Anthony Friesen, Ryan Shaw, Dana McNish, Wilson, Kevin Day

 

RESTON ROCKETS

Manager: Ross Tycoles

2009 Record: 12-7-1, lost in semifinal

Out: Paul Thompson

In: Tony Isbell, Luis Avila

Projected lineup: C Rory Tycoles, 1B Alexander MacKinnon/Aaron Tycoles, 2B Andrew Loughhead, 3B Eric Truscott/Clayton Jago, SS Mitch Olson, LF Tyler Henderson, CF Buddy Mayert, RF Isbell

Pitching staff: Ryan Bodell, Avila, Isbell, Truscott and Dez Koop