|
Preview from.. |
|
|
Preview from.. |
|
A disappointing fourth last time - after taking
the championship in 2007 - Victoria will be seeking to atone
as we head to the Diamond Anniversary Claxton Shield Series that
starts in Sydney on Tuesday 2 December Five states will contest the Claxton Shield series, which is being widely viewed as a trial run for the re-establishment of an Australian National League from as early as next summer Up to sixty Australian-born contracted or former professional baseballers will play in the series Last years winner Western Australia will defend its title against South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland While the territories are not fielding teams, a number of their players have been drafted to the state squads The Claxton Shield is a time-honoured national event that has presented the best in Australian baseball talent since 1934 Victorian has won the Shield a record twenty-one times, South Australia fifteen, New South Wales thirteen, Western Australia ten and Queensland nine The first round Showcase Series is expected to give the series a serious kick-start, with each team playing each other once at Blacktown Olympic Park Big crowds are anticipated as each state strives for early ascendancy The series subsequently moves to a home and away format, with each state hosting three games against two of the others, before a finals series in late January/early February at venues to be decided All up, each state will play sixteen preliminary games prior to the finals Apart from the prestige of being national state champion, this years Claxton Shield will serve as the primary selection trial for the 2009 World Baseball Classic Australia is one of just sixteen countries invited to the classic There is much on the line for players and coaches as they seek to negotiate their way successfully through the Diamond Anniversary Claxton Shield Indicative of a trend that may be projected into the new National League, regional centres have been consciously brought into the equation, with games being played in Mt Gambier, Geelong, Mildura, Lismore (NSW), Canberra and Wollongong Victoria Under incoming Manager Phil Dale, the Aces boast a formidable lineup that includes two Major Leaguers in Justin Huber and Brad Harman with the likelihood of a third to be available for at least some of the home and away series Apart from the enormously experienced and well-credentialed Dale at the helm, Victoria has great managerial support in the form of Phil Allen (Assistant Coach) Damian Shanahan (Assistant) and Lee Hogan (Assistant and Executive Officer) For the Showcase round, Victoria will field a team brimming with ability, versatility and desire to cash in on the hard work theyve been doing over recent weeks of club ball and Claxton Shield trials A sign of the strength of Victorian baseball is that a number of players including Canberra draft pick Steve Kent are not available for the Showcase round, but will provide even more options as the series moves to home and away Victoria could almost field two Claxton Shield teams, Australian Hall-of-Famer Phil Dale told Baseball Radio recently But like the other states we have some key players not available at different times Victoria will take a strong contingent of left-handed pitchers into the Showcase round, with Dean Barker, Adam Blackley, Donavon Hendricks, Glen Richards and Elliot Biddle offering great starting and relief options Throwing right-arm will be Matthew Blackmore, Darryn Cassidy and rookies Blake Cunningham and Kable Hogben (both from the Cheltenham Club) Eighteen year-old Hogben has been added to the squad after a minor calf injury to Justin Huber Hogben adds a little more depth to our pitching, said Aces Manager Phil Dale He has really come on And so has Cunningham, who really wasn't on the radar until the last few weeks, he said But he has been terrific in the trials and in club ball Springvale ace Glen Richards who spent time with the Atlanta Braves organisation is another to earn selection on the basis of his form and enthusiasm for the contest In each of the past two seasons of Division Three club ball, the left-hander has racked up just short of 200 strike outs Richards is a tough guy to hit when he's around the strike zone, said Dale Grant Karlsen and Tristen McDonald will share the catching duties, both of them in terrific form with the bat, with the latter able to have a run at leftfield if required or to assume the designated hitter role Karlsen can eat up a few innings on the hill if necessary Hayden Dingle will spend plenty of time at first base or in the designated hitter role with his big bat a key to Victorias prospects Daniel Berg, Paul Weichard, Scott McIntyre, Brad Harman, Paul Rutgers, Brett Tamburrino and Scott Wearne add plenty of power and on-base capacity to the Aces offence It's interesting to note, in 2008, that Victoria topped the team batting averages at .324, significantly higher than any of the others, including eventual winner Perth Heat on .287 This may tell us something about defence or about not fully exploiting scoring opportunities Or it may tell us nothing about anything much The Aces boast a number of stunning infield options, including Berg, Tamburrino, Rutgers and McIntyre, with Phillies Major Leaguer Brad Harman (at short stop) bound to be a key defensive factor and a dangerous hitter In Hubers absence, expect Scott McInytre to spent time at the hot corner McIntyre hit around .300 as a Claxton Shield rookie This time around, he again comes in with outstanding club form, including a batting average of around .520 While Paul Weichard will head the outfield defence, he will receive great support from the likes of Berg, Biddle, Tamburrino, Rutgers, McIntyre and McDonald The versatility of the Aces roster for the Showcase series is self-evident But we also need to factor in the role that utility Scott Wearne might play An irrepressible and explosive competitor, Wearne can fill a number of defensive roles, he runs the bases like a whippet and hits for power and average Manager Phil Dale expects the Victorian side to acquit itself well, whilst conceding that there will be a number of changes, over the summer, depending on player availability, work and other commitments We have a couple of tough months coming up, said Dale Especially the next three weeks, when well be balancing Claxton Shield and club commitments For the Showcase series, I expect that Adam Blackley will start against Queensland How deep he or anyone else goes remains to be seen Cassidy, Hendricks and Barker are all in the mix for starts in the Showcase series Greg Wiltshire will hopefully be available for future series this summer While a number of players will be enjoying their first taste of Claxton Shield, Victorian management staff have a proven record of relating to players and bringing squads together as a team unit The Aces will be well prepared And they'll be tough to beat Only one game will be held at Altona (Friday 12 December), two will be held at Mildura (13 and 14 December), while all three games against New South Wales will be played in Geelong Although the scheduling arrangements may not please many Melbourne baseball supporters, the Mildura and Geelong games are expected to draw large crowds Although Altona is not the most popular venue around, its sole game will surely draw a massive crowd Community support is vital to the reintroduction of a National League Baseball Victoria urges all persons with an interest in the sport to come out in numbers to show their support In conjunction with the Australian Baseball Federation and the state associations, Baseball Victoria will seek to provide timely reporting on the Claxton Shield as the Aces go head to head with the other sides to decide the champion state in the competition Diamond Anniversary year Competition for the Diamond Anniversary title will be intense From what we know of the other states, the following is a taste of what can be expected from Victoria's opposition as the Showcase round gets under way New South Wales The Patriots have been regular finalists in Claxton Shield over many years and they most recently won the title in 2004 and 2005 They were runners up in 2007 and 2008, perhaps spurring them as a proud baseball state to atone Under Manager Shane Barclay, the Patriots have lost a number of big names who seemed like permanent fixtures in ABL, state and national sides of the past ten to fifteen years Thirty year-old professional Chris Oxspring heads a balanced pitching staff that will suit up for the Showcase round Tim Atherton, Vaughan Harris and Wayne Lundgren are other right-handed options, while Matthew Bennett and Tim Cox are southpaws on the squad With an ERA of 1.00 in the 2008 series, Cox was a standout in what will again be an accomplished and miserly pitching roster The Patriots have two of the countrys better catchers going around in Andrew Graham and Patrick Maat Only twenty-one and now attached to the New York Mets organisation, Maat hit .361 in last years Claxton Shield Other players expected to have a serious impact will be the likes of Tim Auty (hit .360 last series), Michael Lysaught and utility Trent d'Antonio Eighteen year-old David Kandalis who has signed with the Colorado Rockies, provides exceptional base speed, hitting power and a cannon arm in the outfield Queensland The Rams finished third in 2008 Again under Manager Peter Yates, this time around they have an exciting mixture of emerging stars and established players While they appear to be light on for left-handed pitching options, expect the Rams to be well-served by the likes of Nathan Crawford, Justin Erasmus, John Veitch, Chris Mowday and Drew Naylor With an ERA of 1.17, Mowday was a star of last season's Claxton Shield, while Drew Naylor has obviously shown plenty to recently make it onto the Phillies 40-man roster Versatile regular Aussie representative Brett Roneberg will be a key defensive and offensive factor (he hit .402 last Claxton series) James Linger is a brilliant young utility with a huge future in the game, who batted .393 and fielded out of his skin last time around Brad Dutton and Wade Dutton continue the family tradition of fine service to Australian baseball, while catcher Joel Naughton will still be on a high after joining Naylor on the Phillies 40-man for spring training Expect David Sutherland to again be a key factor after a brilliant 2008 series The first baseman and occasional left-handed pitcher hit a series-high .442 with nineteen hits Western Australia The Heat went from last in 2007 to win the Claxton Shield in 2008 Incoming Head Coach Don Kyle has gathered some quality staff around him, including Assistant Coaches Graeme Lloyd and Greg Jelks, both of whom have outstanding credentials Lloyd is a former Victorian, of course, with a ten-year major League career that included two World Series rings with the New York Yankees The Heat is always well-prepared and will have a great balance of youth and experience While their oldest player is just twenty-seven, the squad has a wealth of playing experience at professional and Australian national level As with other states, there will be names coming and going during the series, although they have pretty much the same team as last series They know what is expected of them to win Scott Mitchinson is not on the roster for the Showcase round, but the Heat has two of last years pitching revelations in Mark Kelly (3.00 ERA last time, including a superb final) and Liam Hendricks (ERA of 1.90 in 2008) Right-hander Brendan Wise, with the Detroit Tigers organisation, brings great experience to the hill despite being just twenty-two, Dylan Peacock and Benn Grice are solid right-handed pitchers and Daniel Schmidt offers a quality left-handed option The Heat boast a number of other players with overseas experience, including infielders Mitch Graham (who starred in the last Claxton series, picking up twenty hits at an average of .385), Andrew Kyle and Matthew Kennelly, utility Dean White and outfielder Tim Kennelly, who was outstanding last time and has spent quality time as an overseas professional South Australia South Australia has had a lean time in Claxton Shield its their last win 29 years ago Prior to that, the state was a powerhouse in Claxton Shield that had many memorable clashes with Victoria, especially Under Head Coach Ron Harvey this time around, the Bite will be looking to re-establish some ascendancy Evergreen Phil Brassington was an interesting pick-up for South Australia in the draft He will add heaps of guidance and poise to the pitching staff Fellow right-handers in Tom Fiebig (Cincinnati Reds organisation), Darren Fidge (ERA of 2.19 in the last series), Chris Lawson and Jay Ziersch will be called upon for their share of work, while Lachlan Eldridge and Michael Ewart are left-handed options Supporters can expect some serious entertainment value from the demonstrative Adam Crabb, a 24 year-old right-handed pitcher who has played in Holland and in the inaugural Israel Baseball League It remains to be seen if South Australia will have the offensive firepower to post enough runs Plenty will be required from the likes of infielders Stefan Welch and Josh Cakebread, utility Nick Talbot and outfielders Angus Roeger and the dangerous Ben Wigmore Much will especially be expected of twenty year-old Welch, now with the Mets organisation, who had a standout series last time, with nineteen hits and an average of .380 The Verdict It would be either brave or foolhardy to nominate a Claxton Shield winner at this early stage However, we do know that rosters will be in a state of flux during the summer and that there will be inclusions and unavailabilities that will have a significant bearing on game results States may have more of their better players available for home games, but this levels out because each of the five competing states is required to travel The best result for baseball would be for it all to come down to 15, 16, 17 and 18 January to determine who will make the semi-finals That situation is entirely plausible, with each state being well prepared and each having access to the cream of Australian baseball talent Interstate competition has always brought competitiveness and pride out of our athletes in any team sport This years Claxton Shield will be no exception Any one of five states can win the shield Perth Heat lost every game in 2007 but came back to win in 2008 Queensland has won just nine titles, but from only twenty-seven attempts, a remarkable strike rate South Australia is surely keen to recreate its glory days of the sixties and seventies, while New South Wales, our most populous state, is always around the money Anything is possible, although there are plenty of Victorians who will be tipping their Aces to be somewhere in the top three come mid-January 2009 |
..web site