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Volume 1, Issue 2 24 May 2012 The Stickball-Star Ledger

Inside the Issue:

Page 1

The League

Upcoming Games 1 Draft Recap 2

Draft Grades

3-4

Projected Lineups 5-6 All-League Player Spotlight Umpire Predictions Backspin Chronicles 7

7 8 8

League games begin in just days and you can feel the excitement when talking to league members. They are all getting their new bats and taping them up. You can almost smell the fresh scent of tennis balls in the air. The draft is in the books and now everyone knows which team they will be playing with. The speculation about who should draft who is over and we can determine who is the best by playing the games. Good Luck to every league member and I hope we have a great 1st season of the Fountain Hill Stickball League.

Nick Johnson, #1 overall pick of The

Kekambas in the 2012 FHSL Draft

Upcoming Games: Tuesday May 29th at the Holy Child Parking Lot 5:00 pm Tune Squad vs. Bethlehem Monarchs 6:30 pm The Kekambas vs. The Sultans of Swat

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Volume 1, Issue 2 24 May 2012 The Stickball-Star Ledger

2012 FHSL Draft Recap

1. Nick Jonhson Pressure will be on him to perform from day 1 for The Kekambas 2. Mike Zumas Greek Mitts a surprise pick here but what else would we expect from Sawruk? 3. Alex Specht Preseason MVP candidate an easy selection for the Tune Squad 4. Joey Felker Left Fielder position is no issue for the Monarchs 5. Taylor Bates This pick shores up the Monarchs outfield 6. Nick Pat Ampietro A late riser, may end up being a steal 7. Kyle McCauley Tim gets his guy as McCauley slides 8. Mike Dally Pickle a nice addition to The Kekambas 9. Jake Mies Can play basically anywhere in the field and swings a good stick rd 10. Jason Huber And again Sawruk somehow lands another of his guys in the 3 round 11. Kyle Laughlin This pick gives Tune Squad some more power in the lineup 12. Andrew Redding A heady player will definitely help the Monarchs 13. Ryan Anderson Did his status as league commissioner help his draft stock? 14. Josh Knipe Will help the Tune Squad wherever they decide to play him The #7 overall selection of 15. Wayne Crenko The Sultans get their pitcher with #15 The Sultans of Swat, Kyle 16. Patrick Hilaire The lengthy Heggie a solid pick here at #16 McCauley 17. Richie Taglang A sure handed CF adds speed to The Kekambas lineup 18. Rocco DiPaola A youngster could be groomed under Zumas as the first basemen of the future 19. Bryan Redding Bry should be a nice fit for the already stout Tune Squad st 20. Andrew Krause A sure handed Krause will field 1 base for the Monarchs 21. Jaime Hinkley A speedy Hinkles is sure to help the Monarchs 22. Deron Seamon Versatile player adds some speed to the Tune Squad 23. Peyton Bates Another youngster for the Sultans 24. Ray Pacheco Martins Kekambas continue to go young in the draft 25. Justis Freeman Has proven to be a deep threat in pickup games 26. John Treskot Could add strength to an already powerful lineup 27. Brad Vangeli - A friend of Nic Pat, should make for a nice tandem for the Tune Squad Bryan Redding of the 28. Eric Blum Adds some much needed power to The Monarchs lineup Tune Squad 29. Justin Santanasto A baseball player adds youth to the aging Monarchs 30. Eric Rau Should battle for the starting pitcher spot with Bryan Redding 31. Leo Rooney The lefty will provide some pop for the Sultans 32. Tony Logan This pick has created a chip on the shoulder of Logan 33. Tommy DiPaola Could be mentored under Logan to be the leagues next great pitcher 34. Paul Marzella A sleeper pick for the Sultans could help them a lot 35. Neal Treskot Could help the Tune Squad as he looks to be penciled in at the catcher position 36. Ben Johnson BJ will provide Monarchs with consistency on the mound 37. David Schwoyer And Schwa rounds out The Monarchs lineup 38. Jake Conklin An unknown commodity with Tune Squads last pick Pitcher for The 39. Luke Ameer-Beg The notorious Ameer-Beg goes to the Sultans Bethlehem 40. Mike Block Mr. Irrelevant finalizes the historical 2012 FHSL Draft

Monarchs, Ben Johnson

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Volume 1, Issue 2 24 May 2012 The Stickball-Star Ledger

Draft Grades
The Kekambas (B+)
Burdened with the number 1 pick, Joey Martin went with the obvious choice in blue chip prospect Nick Johnson. After that though, Captain Martin would have to wait 6 more picks before he got to draft again. Choosing to go with Mike Dally and Jake Mies to round out his top 3 selections. Many are making ageist claims towards the issue of this team being too young (adding fuel to that fire was the 9th round addition of the youngest player in the draft, Tommy DiPaola). And although that may be true, it's not necessarily a detriment to how they'll perform on the field. Youngster Richie Taglang has already proven himself with pop at the plate and slick moves in the outfield. Alongside of that, Joey went with his guys and that may prove invaluable when it comes time to working as a team. With projected lineups in place, this team has a piece at every position and a lineup that matches up well any day. They may not be the favorites going into the season, but don't be surprised in the least bit when they end up being a difficult opponent when the season comes.

The Sultans of Swat (A-)

Leave it to Sawruk to pull a classic wildcard maneuver to make waves on draft day. Going against popular opinions, manager Sawruk selected Mike Zumas with the number 2 overall pick, leaving shock and bewilderment as the two emotions that pervaded the draft day spectators. Although this seemed a risky move, he still ended up with his guys in the second and third by picking up Kyle McCauley and Jason Huber. What was noted in the fourth round as a heady pick, Tim selected pitcher Wayne Crenko to lock up both the pitchers spot and the likely number 2 slot in the lineup with a technically sound bat. In round 8 Sawruk went with lefty Leo Rooney to add a changeup to his lineup. On paper his offense looks as dangerous as they come with on-base monsters McCauley and Crenko, sneaky gap hitters in Zumas and Rocco DiPaola, and the power tandem of himself and Huber. The only slight to his team is an apparent disregard for the outfield defensively, not selecting a well-established Left Fielder or Center Fielder. Time will tell whether Tim can manage around this and put players where they will perform well.

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Volume 1, Issue 2 24 May 2012 The Stickball-Star Ledger

Draft Grades
Tune Squad (A)
What has been labeled by some as the overall best draft class, Zach Glagola did his homework and picked up guys, from top to bottom, that can fit his team model. Defensively sound with infield beasts Nic Pat and Alex Specht and the outfield prowess of himself and Josh Knipe, Glagola put a team together that will make hits hard to come by. As far as projected lineups go, it's hard to argue with the looks of his. Opposing teams may go through 5 or 6 batters without getting an out. Scary stuff for any manager that has him on their schedule for that week. With a good balance of age, experience, and athleticism, this team has already made a name for itself as a postseason favorite without even playing a game. This of course is all conjecture, but if they perform as projection would indicate, make room at the dance for these guys.

The Bethlehem Monarchs (A-)

With arguably the best position in the draft with his first pick being a back-to-back pick, Colin Hutchinson immediately shored up one of the most important positions in Left Field with Joey Felker and also picked up who is most likely the premiere athlete in the draft in Taylor Bates. Sources say as the rounds went on Colin used every second of the 2 minutes he was allowed per pick to make the right calls. With the likes of Andrew Redding and Commissioner Ryan Anderson as his 3 and 4 guys, he sent a message to the league that this will be an allaround team that will play sound defense, hit well fundamentally, and can beat you with a combination of speed, power, and small ball. Although challenged with no real run away cleanup hitter, it'll be interesting to see if Colin can manufacture a lineup that will feed runs in at a steady pace to keep up with the other 3 offenses who have established number 4 hitters. As long as his defense plays the way it looks on paper, teams will be hard pressed to score runs while going against this squad. If Andrew Krause can swing the bat effectively and Eric Blum gets back to basics and starts hitting the ball far again, this team will give the competition fits as there would be no real weak spot in terms of batting. All this remains to be seen and this is all speculation at this point.

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Volume 1, Issue 2 24 May 2012 The Stickball-Star Ledger

Projected Lineups

The Kekambas
Joey Martin-3B Richie Taglang-RF Jake Mies-CF Nick Johnson-LF Pat Hillaire-1B Mike Dally-2B Justis Freeman-C Tony Logan-P Ray Pacheco-SS Tommy DiPaola-EH Bench: Mike Block-2B/RF

Kekambas breakdown: Armed with arguably the best hitter in the league in Nick Johnson, Martin's lineup will most likely be built around him at the cleanup spot. Martin's on-base prowess will see him plausibly putting himself at the top of the lineup followed by Taglang and Mies who, in all likelihood, will be on base for Johnson to drive them in. Freeman could see himself move up to the 5th spot to provide a potent 1-2 punch at the 4 and 5 holes. Pitcher Logan has a chip on his shoulder due his low draft selection so see him as an early riser through this lineup.

The Sultans of Swat

Kyle McCauley-3B Wayne Crenko-P Jason "Lump" Huber-SS Tim Sawruk-RF Mike Zumas-1B Rocco DiPaola-LF Paul Marzella-2B Peyton Bates-CF John Treskot-C Leo Rooney(L)-EH Bench: Luke Ameer-Beg-2B/RF

Sultans breakdown: Before the draft even started, Sawruk already had himself as the number 4 hitter which opened up many interesting drafting opportunities in terms of what direction he could go. With McCauley as the best pure leadoff hitter in the league and one of the best hitters in terms of average in Crenko, runs will be coming in bunches if Sawruk decides to put Lump before him in the lineup. A dangerous mix of poisons to pick from in terms of how teams are going to approach that tandem. Unknown quantity Jon Treskot could be a huge pick up if he shows some big frame pop at the bottom of the lineup. Always a lefty lover, Sawruk will try to get the most out of Rooney in runner on third RBI situations.

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Volume 1, Issue 2 24 May 2012 The Stickball-Star Ledger

Projected Lineups

Tune Squad
Nic Pat Ampietro-3B Josh Knipe-CF Zach Glagola(L)-LF Alex Specht-SS Kyle Laughlin-1B Bryan Redding-P Eric Rau-2B Deron Seaman-RF Neal Treskot-EH Jake Conklin-C Bench: Brad Vangeli-2B/RF/C

Toon Squad breakdown: Colonial league standout Ampietro is a no-brainer to be put in the leadoff spot on Glagola's team. Followed by Knipe and himself, Glagola will probably put the potent bats of Specht and Laughlin following him up to drive in buckets of runs. Ampietro's Salisbury teammate Vangeli could see himself getting plenty of playing time as either an extra hitter or in the field. With the pitcher's spot still up in the air, it's this expert's opinion that Redding will fill that role in one of the biggest position battles of the preseason so far. It should be exciting to see how Zach manages his talent.

Monarchs
Colin Hutchinson-SS Andrew Redding-3B Joey Felker-LF Taylor Bates-CF Eric Blum-C Andrew Krause-1B Ryan Anderson-RF Jaime Hinkley-2B Ben Johnson-P David Schwoyer-EH Bench: Justin Santanasto-2B/RF

Monarchs breakdown: Bates proves to be the power of this lineup and will end up in the 4 slot as it seems. With Felker and Blum giving protection on both sides, he should have plenty of opportunities to drive in the top of the lineup that sees on-base monsters Hutchinson, Redding, and Felker coming before him. Turning the lineup over Captain Hutchinson will see wily hitters such as Krause and Anderson attempt to come up huge. Hinkley's speed at the latter half of the lineup could prove to be RBI fodder for anyone after him. Santanasto will see plenty of playing time in the first game since Krause will be out of town. Going forward in the season it's the task of Hutchinson to assign playing time to everyone to take advantage of all his talent.

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Volume 1, Issue 2 24 May 2012 The Stickball-Star Ledger

All-League Selections
Left Field-Nick Johnson Center Field-Taylor Bates Right Field-Tim Sawruk Third Base-Kyle McCauley Shortstop-Alex Specht Second Base-Mike Dally First Base-Kyle Laughlin Catcher-Eric Blum Pitcher-Wayne Crenko
Honorable Mentions: Joey Felker, Zach Glagola, Nic Pat Ampietro, Andrew Krause, Bryan Redding, Jason Huber

Player Spotlight
Patrick Hilaire
Patrick Francis Hilaire, born August 4th 1993, is the subject of this issues Player Spotlight. Known to many as Heggie, he enjoys playing basketball and hanging out with friends. He is currently going to school to become a pilot at Lehigh Carbon Community College. Pat was the 16th overall selection of the 2012 FHSL Draft, making him a member of Joey Martins Kekambas. He is a well-respected stickball player who has a knack for coming up with big hits when called upon. We will have to see if Heggie can transfer some of his pilot skills to the stickball field by carrying his team to new heights in this summers Fountain Hill Stickball League.

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Volume 1, Issue 2 24 May 2012 The Stickball-Star Ledger

Shane Hutchinson a FHSL Umpire

A sad day came when consensus number 4 pick Shane Hutchinson hurt his ankle while playing rugby. An even sadder day came when, weeks later, he learned how serious the injury was. With a double sprain, torn ligament, and a blood infection, he was made aware that the timeline for him walking on it again would be 4 weeks. And when he'd be able to run on it again would be in the area of 3 months with physical therapy most likely needed, completely removing him from all practical stickball activities. But Shane's willingness to be a part of this league has led him to become the first official league mandated umpire. Due to his competitive nature this was a tough move for Shane. Taking a position on the sidelines has never sat well with him. But he understands the situation he's in and he wants to make the most of it. Being at the games throughout the season will maintain a sense of normalcy since he has been involved in stickball since he was young and has been part of the Classic since its inaugural year. In terms of what kind of umpire he will be it can be summed up by a quote from him on draft day, "I'll toss ya if I have to." A no nonsense guy which will be an interesting dynamic to watch as both his brother, Colin, and Tim Sawruk have tempers that flare and won't hesitate to argue a call.

10 Bold League Predictions

1. Kyle McCauley will be placed on the 15 day DL at some point this season 2. The Sultans of Swat will win the FHSL Championship 3. Nick Johnson will win the Golden Glove and Silver Slugger awards, but will not win the MVP award 4. Alex Specht will win the MVP Award 5. The Bethlehem Monarchs outfield combo of Joey Felker and Taylor Bates will not have any errors the entire season 6. Eric Rau will shine once he earns the opportunity to be the starting pitcher for The Tune Squad 7. Shane Hutchinson will eject at least one team captain this season 8. The Kekambas will not make the FHSL Championship Series 9. Josh Knipe of The Tune Squad will bat above .425 and be on the MVP ballot 10.John Treskot, catcher for The Sultans of Swat, will pick off at least 2 base runners sleeping at 1st base this season

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Volume 1, Issue 2 24 May 2012 The Stickball-Star Ledger

Contributing Writers:

The Backspin Chronicles

In this issues edition of The Backspin Chronicles we will be discussing a couple of important rules of the Fountain Hill Stickball League. As you know, games will be played at both the Fountain Hill Park and Holy Child Packing Lot. Each game venue has its own unique ground rules. Here are the main ground rule changes for both Holy Child and the Fountain Hill Park. Fountain Hill Park Balls hit into the gazebo will result in an automatic single for the batter Balls that hit the roof of the gazebo and bounce off are playable and do not result in a stoppage of play or automatic base Holy Child Balls hit over the right field fence and to the right of the telephone pole will result in an automatic single for the batter, however, it will not be documented as a single statistically We will have to wait and see how much of a role these rule changes play in stickball games this season. League games begin Tuesday, May 29th at Holy Child parking lot with The Bethlehem Monarchs taking on the much hyped Tune Squad directly followed by The Sultans of Swat vs. The Kekambas. May the best teams win and good luck to all of the players. Lets have a heck of a season!

League.fhclassic.com Twitter: fh_stickball Facebook: Fountain Hill Stickball League E-mail: fhstickball@gmail.com

We are looking to add an editorial section to the next issue of The Stickball-Star Ledger so if you are interested in writing an article on anything stickball, please submit it to fhstickball@gmail.com Contributing Writers: Jaime Hinkley Ryan Anderson Contributing Editors: Jaime Hinkley Ryan Anderson Contributing Photographers: Micky Haney

If you would like to become a contributing writer to The Stickball-Star Ledger e-mail us at fhstickball@gmail.com