The McKay Club Beacons are Officially Fun to Watch

Well then, back to business as usual. Memorial Day has come and gone. And what a Memorial Day it was. In Boston, we saw weather with timing as impeccable as the Boston Red Sox offense. And speaking of those Red Sox, they just keep sweeping right along as the New York Yankees keep getting swept away.

I’m sure that McKay Club outfielder Dana Levensaler won’t be too happy about the Yankees, but he has a team closer to his heart than those hapless Bronx Bombers. And that team would be our McKay Club Beacons. Dana has been a great example of how this team has already seemed to have come together more cohesively this season that at any point during all of last season.

This past Friday night proved to be a prime example of how this team sticks together and, above all else, just wants to win and have a great time doing it. I mean, how many times do you see a team get three runners gunned down, at home plate have you, and still end up pulling out the win, 8-4? If you were thinking ‘not too often,’ then you were right.

I digress. Dana is an old man. It had to be said. Now for the good part. He is an old man who can swing one hell of a bat, even under the weather. Suffering from a neck injury that, earlier in the day had limited him from scoping women on Newbury Street in Boston, came through with three hits in our 8-4 come-from-behind victory. Two of the three hits Dana delivered were a few of the hottest, hardest scorched balls I have seen in my two years in the Yawkey League.

That’s just one of the many finer points from Friday night that I believe solidified our team and put into our minds that, much like the 2007 Red Sox team, this team can come from behind, score runs and win games with ability and with timely hitting. This year, more hits seem to be falling and the stats are showing it.

Through six games, the Beacons’ offense has been putting out like a, um, well you guys know here I’m going with that one. I’ll just leave it at that. The team is currently ranked fifth or better in team batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, OPS (ob-base-plus-slugging for those of you who might not know) doubles, hits and runs scored. Now, some of these stats may have been inflated by the eight-run, 17 hit performance on Friday night at Towne Field, but I can say this much. This team, as constituted, is much more gifted offensively than last year, and I don’t mean gifted in a special-ed kind of way either.

Last season, I looked at Dan Ciocca as a pitcher first, and an offensive player second. This season, not so much. Ciocca has absolutely been hitting the cover off of the ball, spraying hits to all gaps and fields so far this season. His biggest hit of the young season by far occurred after an intentional walk of Chris Deane to load the bases. Fearing the Yawkey League power threat, Savin Hill chose to pitch to Dan Ciocca instead of Deane and he made them pay for it big time. That was the biggest hit of the season so far for the team, as it gave us a 5-4 lead that would not be relinquished.

What allowed us to come from behind, and what will allow us to come from behind again and again is the pitching. Adam Kuils, Friday’s starter, didn’t get the win that he deserved, but he pitched well enough for it and that’s what has happened for the most part this season. Good pitching performances by the group I am officially deeming The Four Horsemen have allowed us to rank seventh in the Yawkey League in ERA while allowing only 10 earned runs while striking out 40 in 41 innings. The Four Horseman are as follows: Sean Sullivan, Adam Kulis, Dan Ciocca and Ryan Thomas. With three consistent starters and one very reliable bullpen arm, this team is poised to shut down opposing offenses and win ball games.

The only troublesome area, the one that may have cost us a game or two already, is the defense. In particular the infield. Now i’m not pointing fingers, but the infielders have allowed all 11 errors so far this season, leading to our rank of 13^th in the Yawkey League in fielding percentage. What can be done to fix this? A longer infield practice before games, or games of pepper to strengthen muscle memory and reflexes? Sure, whatever works. Maybe the kinks are out and more ground balls will start finding gloves. I’m an optimist, what can I say?

With a 3-3 record, a top-five offense and solid pitching, I can’t bitch about much. Yes, the defense needs a little bit of work. That will come. The important part is that, as of now, we know how to win and we believe that we can win no matter what. Three run deficit in the seventh? Big deal. With Chris Deane, Rob Linn, Dana Levensaler and Dan Ciocca in the middle of the line-up, bring on your closer. Or your starter after six innings. I know we can win and my team mates know we can win. Come to the games and watch, drink with us afterwards at Tom English’s Pub and enjoy the ride.

Reflections of a pitcher

As I sat on the bench at Trum Field in Somerville Tuesday night I had a chance to reflect back somewhat on last season. The weather was nice on Tuesday night, somewhat windy and partly cloudy. And dry. Ask anyone who was there, they saw the dustbowl-esque clouds of faux infield blowing around making the air cloudy and the view impaired. For whatever reason, after I made my appearance in the game and as I was sitting on the bench, I began to think about last season, how it went, how we have improved our team and why we will be better this season than last.

Baseball is a game of adjustments. As an athlete and baseball player, one has to look upon themselves with a judging eye and ask what am I doing, how can I do it better and how can I improve on my game? Whether it is a pitcher making mechanical adjustments in their delivery, a batter tweaking his stance just the slightest bit to create better bat speed or enable them to see the ball better, or a fielder changing his footwork or working on taking better routes to the ball, the game of baseball means constant change. It’s Darwin’s theory of evolution in a way. Change or perish, it’s as simple as that.

Last season can’t be looked at as a success, that’s for sure. But looking back on last season and looking at what we had constituted on the field Tuesday night against the uber-dynasty known as the Somerville Alibrandis, I came to the realization that we are a much better ball club. Win or lose Tuesday night, that wasn’t important, it was elementary. What Tuesday night did for me, and I’m sure for the rest of our team, was that it gave us a chance to gauge what we had and where we needed to be, going forward.

I saw Sean Sullivan pitch three innings. He has a small rib cage tendon issue, so he’s not 100%. It didn’t matter though because for three innings, he threw very well and I’m sure he impressed everyone on each side of the infield. The mere fact that he only threw five innings for his Bridgewater State College team this season bodes extremely well for us. He is very fresh and I for one can’t wait for the regular season to start because when Rusty, or Big Red, or Sully, or whatever you choose to call him is on his game, not even the Alibrandis can make him flinch.

After Sully threw his three innings, he was followed by Adam Kulis for one inning, Ryan Thomas for two, Geoff Wiech for an inning and then, I’m sorry for this, a new addition to our team threw the last inning of relief. Your name escapes me right now, you can chastise me for it later on. The end result was a 2-0 defeat, but I don’t think it was a defeat at all. What I saw on the field on Tuesday night made he happy, excited, intrigued, and most of all – it made me confident. Confident that the team Dave McKay put together for 2007 will be a contender in the Yawkey League.

Our pitching staff is young and ready to go. Sully is our team ace and we all know that. He knows that. (Don’t let it get to your head too much, ok Sull?) Last season was the first for Sully, Adam, Ryan, and Dan Ciocca, whom arguably was the best and most consistent pitcher for us last season. With one year under our belts, this season looks to be better for all of us because we are more comfortable here and we have some experience against the Yawkey League teams.

The addition to the pitching staff that intrigues me the most is that of Geoff Wiech. Geoff got a chance to pitch in the game on Tuesday and I have to say that he has very good stuff. His fastball has good velocity and good movement, his curve is big and slow like John Ratkauskas (just pokin’ some fun Johnnie) and he has a nice cutter and a change-up. If Geoff can keep consistent he will become another valuable chip in the poker game I like to call baseball.

The problems that reared their ugly heads most often last year were a lack of timely hitting and sloppy defense at times. From what I’ve seen, this season looks like it will be an improvement on both fronts. The additions of Rob Linn and Dana Levensalar will bolster a line up that already includes the likes of Chris Deane, Andy “Deuce” McCallister, Josh McDonnell , Jackie Owens and John Ratkauskas. From what I have seen so far, these additions will give the McKay Club more of a chance to drive in runs on a consistent basis.

Everyone involved in the pitching staff last year will tell you that the defensive play created sleepless nights and headaches for all involved in the game. The McKay Club used a lot of different combinations in the infield last year and I think that was the root of the problem defensively. This season, we have players who are committed to showing up and want to play baseball the way it is supposed to be played. The nicest addition to the defense I have seen has been shortstop Jay Suoto all the way from friggin’ New Bedford. If he’s not dedicated, then I don’t know who is. What I have seen from him in the infield impresses me very much. He has good hands and foot work and his throws to first are accurate. Between him, Josh McDonnell and Dan Ciocca, the McKay Club seems to have a good core of middle infielders.

The outfield defense was good last year and it has become even better with the addition of Dana Levensalar, who will prove to increase the depth of the outfield tremendously. Dana will contribute this season in all facets of the game, including pitching, fielding, and hitting. He will also prove to be a veteran presence on our bench and out on the field. I think I speak for everyone on the team when I say that I welcome the addition of Dana with open arms.

The overall ability of the McKay Club has been heightened over the last year in all facets of the game. Our pitching staff is deeper and more experienced, our offense is now well-balanced, and our defense has been upgraded in key areas. Not only that, but our overall team comradery will improve dramatically with the introduction of our new team sponsor Tom English, owner of the Tom English Pubs in South Boston and Dorchester. This sponsor gives us a chance to spend more time together and become more of family than just a team. I am looking forward to more laughs and more continuity, but most importantly, I am looking forward to more wins for the McKay Club Beacons in 2007.

Our team is poised to take the Yawkey League by storm this season.