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FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2009
Rimini stays on top as week 2 restores competitive balance
Week 2 of the Italian Baseball League season tightened up the standings after the season opened with a number of sweeps, but Rimini remained on top and continues to appear to be the strongest team in the league after missing the playoffs in recent years. Rimini dropped their first game of the season against Parma to open the series, in a close foreigner game decided in the 8th and 9th innings as each team's relievers struggled.  Rimini rebounded to take the next two games in the series and stay on top, and slugger Rios continued with his power display to emerge as an early favorite for the leagues top player. Nettuno dropped two games to Bologna, and the loss of Richetti emerged as a potentially major issue for the preseason favorite as Giovanni Carrera struggled, and after a series opening win, Nettuno was dominated in the final two games of the series.  Bologna showed some life and a strong and balanced team, despite losing some key players from last season's first place finishing team. San Marino was shocked twice by Godo.  After dominating the foreigner game when Godo's only foreign pitcher was scratched with an injury, the defending champions wasted a strong performance from Da Silva with an 8th inning bullpen melt down, and then dropped game 3 as well as the Italian pitching rotation appeared to be the team's weak spot as it was throughout their 2008 championship run. Grosseto rebounded from their tough opening week behind strong pitching to keep Reggio Emilia without a win this year.  Juan Figeroa was brilliant in handing Abe Alvarez his second straight 1-0 loss, and the Reggio offense was unable to put together anything all weekend, scoring only twice.  Reggio has been very competitive in each of their six losses, and if the ball starts bouncing their way could be much more dangerous than their current record indicates. Week 3 should provide even more clarity for the season, as the top two teams meet in a historical rematch between Rimini and Nettuno, while the bottom two teams Godo and Reggio Emilia meet with the loser being in a tough position.  San Marino and Bolonga square off and Grosseto hosts Parma in a week that could see significant movement in the standings.
Posted At 07:04 AM by Michael	Link    0 Comments

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MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2009
Italian Baseball League openers have few surprises
Easter weekend marked the start of the Italian Baseball League regular season, and the opening weekend had few surprises despite lots of excitement. Defending champion San Marino swept newly promoted Reggio Emilia, but the series was much closer than the end result, with all three games decided by one run, starting with the nationally televised opener finishing 1-0, and ending with a San Marino rally capped by a Di Biase walk off homer in the ninth and a 10-9 win despite a 7 RBI performance by Jake Blalock. In the most closely battled series, Parma dropped the opener in Bologna and then won the next two games at home.  Matos dominated the opener striking out 10 in seven innings, but when the series moved to Parma, the Parma offense was too much for the Bolognesi pitching. Nettuno swept Godo despite receiving a scare in game 2 and needing a late rally, and despite losing star pitcher Carlos Richetti early in game 3 to an unknown arm injury.  Juan Camilo and Abraham Nunez had seven hits each for Nettuno in the series. Rimini hit six homeruns and relied on exceptional pitching and a perfect defense to sweep Grosseto.  Mario Chiarini hit a key grand slam to break a tie in the opener. Bologna-Nettuno and Parma-Rimini highlight the upcoming second weekend which will also feature San Marino-Godo and Reggio Emilia-Grosseto.
Posted At 06:04 AM by Michael	Link    0 Comments

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THURSDAY, APRIL 02, 2009
Maestri makes Major League debut in spring training
Cubs prospect Alessandro Maestri, who this season is likely to become the first Italian born player to play in double-A got a chance to play with the Cubs Major League team in the final week of spring training, pitching a scoreless inning Wednesday against the Oakland A's. Maestri came in to pitch the fifth inning in a game that Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano started. Ale struck out Orlando Cabrera looking, allowed a ground ball single to Jason Giambi, and then struck out Matt Holliday and Eric Chavez for what will clearly be a memory that will last the young Italian righthander his whole life, and earning a handshake and compliments from Cubs manager Lou Piniella. We hope to see Maestri back with the big club for good some time in the next year or two!
Posted At 04:04 PM by Michael	Link    0 Comments

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 01, 2009
2009 Italian Baseball League Preview
Just eight days until the 2009 Italian Baseball League schedule opens with newly promoted Reggio Emilia hosting defending champion San Marino next Thursday, one day before the rest of the teams start their season. The offseason has had a lot of changes among the teams, and promises to deliver an action packed season with more balance and uncertainty than ever before. Starting at the bottom, newly promoted Reggio Emilia has put together a very interesting team, backed by some star foreign pitchers including Abe Alvarez and a great defense, the team should be much stronger than the Redipuglia team they replace.  On paper the team appears to be the strongest newly promoted team seen in recent years, and no opponent will want to take them lightly. Godo struggled last year, but managed to distance themselves from last place Redipuglia in the head to head matches.  But Godo has improved their team significantly with strong foreigners with Major League experience, including Pete Rose Jr, and the veteran addition to their bullpen of Roberto Cabalisti. Ten time champion Rimini missed the playoffs for the second straight year last season, but has reloaded with an eye toward returning to the top right away.  The biggest news is the return of Mazzotti as manager ten years after he last managed the team.  The team has made some key acquisitions on the field as well, and should be one of the most improved teams. Parma looks to return to the playoff picture with some significant roster turnover.  Most significant is the addition of superstar second baseman Davide Dallospedale, starter in the recent World Baseball Classic.  Their are some question marks on the pitching staff, but the talent and depth to excel if some of those players come through, and Parma should be considered a definite contender. Grosseto looks to rebuild competitively despite some budget issues.  New manager Mario Labastidas can count on a competitive roster despite the key loss of Dallospadale to Parma, and while lacking depth, the team has many of the key pieces that have managed two championships in the last five years.  If ace Riccardo De Santis can return from elbow surgery for the playoff stretch, the team could be very dangerous. Bologna dominated the last regular season before struggling in the playoffs, and returns much of the team that was so strong last season.  Several question marks swirl as star slugger Richard Austin likely will not fit into the Bologna budget, but the team has too much talent, depth, and experience to not be a force in the 2009 season. Perennial power Nettuno looks to finally return to the top after losing a heart breaking game 7 of the finals and come up 1 game short of a championship.  They likely start the 2009 season as the strongest and most balanced team, and seem a lock for a playoff appearance.  It will depend on how their foreign pitchers perform (they lost all three foreign pitched games in the finals to San Marino last season) to see if they can find a way to be one game better than they were last year. First time champion San Marino, the cinderella of 2008, has few changes to a team that exceeded all expectations last season.  After sneaking into the playoffs last season in the final weeks, their foreign pitching and veteran lineup carried them all the way.  Their Italian pitchers struggled in 2008 despite the team success, and their performance in 2009 could be the key to continued success. We hope everyone is looking forward to an exciting 2009 season, which in terms of talent, fan interest, and competitive balance could be the best season to follow in a long time.
Posted At 12:04 PM by Michael	Link    0 Comments

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SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2009
Playing in Italy 2009
With some of the excitement generated by Team Italia in the World Baseball Classic, we have been getting tons of emails about players interested in playing in Italy, so I wanted to cover the basics for the 2009 season. In the Italian Baseball League (Serie A1) Each team is now allowed 4 foreign players, reduced from 5 in past seasons.  This is usually two pitchers and two hitters, although some teams prefer three hitters and one pitcher.  The competition for these 32 slots is intense, and only players with extensive professional experience have much of a shot.  There are lots of returning players from year to year, so there are many fewer than 32 slots, and most players have double-A or triple-A experience, with lots of big leaguers mixed in.  This means if you are a great college player or a one season in the minors guy, you are going to have very little shot unless you are able to get Italian citizenship. In the second level, Serie A2, each of the 20 teams is now allowed a single foreign player, which effectively will mean a single foreign pitcher for each team.  This is a huge adjustment from past years, and signficantly changes the league.  Most teams have lower budgets and will be looking for a lower cost player, often a Dominican or Venezuelan with single-A experience.  Some will try to get a better player, and some just don't have the budget and will use their visa for someone cheaper with a more limited background.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out this season and if the rule stays the same for next year. The biggest impact of the A2 change is a crowding out of Italian-American pitchers.  In A2 a decent foreign player will not leave many innings over for others, and Italian-Americans with citizenship can only pitch in that same game as the foreigner (until they are considered fully Italian after their sixth season).  A2 still has a bunch of room for Italian-American hitters, and it is a level that a college player eligible for citizenship can excel at. In A1 there is still a whole game that the Italian-Americans can pitch each week that the foreigners can't, so demand is still up.  Each team can have one or two Italian-American hitters in the lineup (depending on how many foreign bats they have), so again we are talking about roughly 16 Italian-American hitters and 16 Italian-American pitchers in the whole league, which with solid returning players taking a lot of slots doesn't leave many options. Players interesting in playing in Italy should still email us at info@baseballitalia.com providing a little bit of their playing background, but most teams are pretty set for 2009, so it will likely be planning on getting early consideration for the 2010 season.  We are not affiliated with any team, and don't have any part in the decision making process, so we try to just provide unbiased information to help players.  Since we started we have helped dozens of players find their way to Italy, and hope we can help lots more share in the amazing experience.
Posted At 11:03 PM by Michael	Link    0 Comments

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