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Zone III will be using wooden bats this year, a key factor with the likes of Rembisz and Sommo throwing.
Will the often out-spoken Karcich miss coaching? Last year he served as both coach and general manager. It's just GM this year for Karcich. "It is very difficult, almost impossible, to be both coach and GM," he explained.
Karcich has been "scouting" the area high schools every spring for at least a dozen years. He wastes no time declaring it gets "worse" each year. "I wish I knew why," he said and then promptly clears away his own smoke screen by blaming parental influence.
It's the "If my kid doesn't play shortstop and bat fourth then I'm calling somebody" attitude said Karcich. "We are losing a lot of good coaches," he added. One of them was his son Derek, a standout at Eastern Connecticut, who left the Morgan job.
In his tenure at Westbrook, Karcich spent precious little time discussing strategy with parents.
"There are two programs that are always successful - Haddam-Killingworth and Westbrook Legion," states Karcich. He then rhetorically asks, "Why do you think that's so?"
Like him or not, the Westbrook Legion program has played a leading role in the development of area players not the least of which is Bryan Rembisz, Scott's brother, who just closed out a four-year career as a pitcher/infielder at the University of Vermont. Karcich points to current Fordham University pitcher and HK product Cory Riordan is the best he had. "He always wanted the ball and he just hated to lose," said Karcich.
"Cherry picking" has been the road to success says Karcich. With two or three exceptions, the best of the shoreline players will again be with Westbrook.
Westbrook is counting on infielder/pitcher Pete Rynkowski from the successful HK team, on Valley Regional's pitcher/catcher Curt Morris and outfielder Bryce McDougall and on Westbrook High infielder Brian Cormier. A pair of St.Bernard players - Old Saybrook resident Jeff Daley, a top hitter, and Grant Livingston - are also returning.
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It has become almost commonplace for Shoreline Conference members, whatever the sport, to eat each other up in the state tournaments. In the Class S baseball's first round, Portland eliminated Valley Regional and Cromwell sent Coginchaug packing. The only team to get to the quarter-finals was HK and it had to beat East Hampton to do it. And, why is it that Old Lyme teams keep running into parochial schools?
East Hampton and Coginchaug (the two-time defending Class S state champs) were the only SLC members to reach the S softball quarters. East Hampton got there with a 4-3 win over Valley Regional, the latter "sneaking" into the tournament with a sub. 500 record and then upsetting long time nemesis Nathan Hale-Ray. Just guessing but that had to be an especially gratifying victory for Valley.
Coginchaug had an easy road with a bye and a runs-ahead rule win over Parish Hill before taking on 26th-seeded East Windsor in the quarters. The Blue Devils are seeded second.
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This is the earliest the Eastern League New Britain Rock Cats have gone over the 100,000 mark in attendance. Bob Dowling, the Rock Cats' media guy, credits "the outreach our staff did with the fans" as the reason. He claims "it gets better and better." Part of that has to be the association the Rock Cats have with their major league affiliate Minnesota Twins.
New GM John Willi claims there are more Rock Cats on major league rosters than any other minor league team. That is due to the Twins' policy of developing talent. "They see Double A as the make-or-break level and that works out well for us," he explained.
Twins General Manager Terry Ryan and Director of Minor Leagues Jim Rantz recently spent a week in New Britain. "Terry is out there eating hot dogs, talking to the fans," Dowling continued. "Do you think that's happening in Trenton or Portland (the Eastern League outlets of the Yankees and Red Sox respectively)?"
The Rock Cats have installed Direct TV that enables them to watch Twins telecasts and keep up with the alumni. "Somebody is always calling others in so we can celebrate another milestone," Dowling summed up.
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The Chester Historical Society has been gifted with Gene Bibbiani's barber chair. "Bibb the Barber" cut three generations of hair in Chester Center. The chair, complete with the child booster seat, goes back even further than "Bibb" I'm told.
A gift from the late Geno's family, it sits in the Society's "The Mill" and, for some, rekindles memories of a Chester Center that was a little rougher around the edges 40-50 years ago.
Where, I want to know, is the radio that Bibb had cemented on the New York Yankee station? Baseball was different back then as well. There were a lot more day games. I can't see that chair - a chair I spent a fair amount of time in - without hearing Mel Allen talk about baseball and beer.
The Bibbiani family was all Yankees. The Zanardi family was all New York Giants. The Brooklyn Dodgers had fans. The Red Sox were represented. On occasion, there was lively debate at Bibb's. You listened first but soon found yourself inching into the verbal combat, finding the fortitude to take on your elders. Baseball was the first subject that you felt comfortable doing it.
We have to protect and cherish that chair. It's lots of things to lots of folks. To me, it's a sports story. I still love, by the way, baseball on the radio.
Pete Zanardi, a freelance writer from Chester, writes about a variety of subjects for Shore Line Newspapers.
