By Marc Raimondi
And the players are buying in.”Physical conditioning is such a big part of the game,” said senior starting pitcher Ethan Liederman, a Division I prospect. “When you really start to implement that, the results are like night and day.”Millman, who played at Francis Lewis for former coach Randy James, brings plenty of experience back with him. He pitched professionally in the Kansas City Royals organization before blowing out his right arm and coached with the Team New York Cardinals before starting his own travel ball organization, the New York Nine. He's also brought in an excellent staff, including former Patriots ace Jonathan Lewis.”It's a really special thing when you have guys with such ability and coaching experience,” Liederman said.Liederman, a right-handed starter and rangy outfielder, will be the team's biggest key. Senior stalwarts Phil Stamatis, a first baseman, catcher Walter Lopez and left-handed pitcher/outfielder Andres Marrero will be joined by youngsters Cesar Murillas, a sophomore infielder, and sophomore pitcher Jon Bobea.”We have a solid mix of returning seniors and athletic freshmen and sophomores to compete with,” Millman said. Star hitters Jamie Liebowitz (SUNY Albany), Andrew Ahn (Fairleigh Dickinson) and Andy Vega have graduated, which means Cardozo will shift its strategy to the mound and the field. Junior George Theodoropoulos and senior Greg Stramara headline the rotation and Antonio Zorrilla provides sharp defense at second base. But the Judges always have bats and this year is no different. Junior catcher Jamal Vargas, junior first baseman Derek Errigo, senior shortstop Brian Morel and senior outfield Anthony Spinella all return.”That's really the goal here: to put forth strong pitching and good defense,” coach Pete Douglas said.For Bayside, this season could be more about who the Commodores don't have rather than who they do. Ace Anthony Velazquez, who gained national notoriety after pitching two consecutive perfect games his junior year, and steady left-handed starter Eric Strauss have both graduated.”Right now, that's the big question mark,” coach Pat Torney said. “How do you fill Strauss' and Velazquez' shoes? That's not easy to do.”But that's what he'll ask junior Jonathan D'Angelo to do. The new No. 1 starter should get some run support with the return of sluggers Kevin Brown, Tony Koulotouros and Jorge Ynoa.The switch to wood bats has hurt Newtown's offense, but the Pioneers could have the arms to compensate. Dauris Tavarez, Mario Valdez and Juan Delacruz have all shown potential.”We have good pitching,” coach Neil Rosenblatt said. “If we play good defensively, we'll be competitive.”Star third baseman Jose Rosado transferred to Bryant, but that's OK with Aviation coach Mike Fischer. He'll put his Flyers on the shoulders of senior shortstop Ony Franco.”I'm hoping my other guys come through, too,” Fischer said. “Ony is the best hitter on the team. He's the captain.”Forest Hills won the PSAL Class B championship in 2001 with only one starter returning at the same position. Coach Marty Finkelstein hopes history repeats itself: this year's Rangers team has only one player who played in the same place last season.Jonathan Yeh and Jesse Friedman will anchor a good staff and senior newcomer Eric Flores could also contribute.
