Andre Chiefs

By Bruce Tilman
Medford, MA- Through the long and storied history of the franchise, whether they were known as the Hosmer Chiefs, Andre Realty, or the Andre Chiefs, they have been blessed with that very special power hitter in the heart of their lineup every year. In the early to mid 1960’s it was player-manager Lenny Dempsey, who handed off the unofficial throne to Sammy Greenwood, who was followed by Dave Polcari in the 1970’s, then Warren Olson and Hank Landers of the 1980’s and 1990’s, and most recently Justin Crisafulli, who assumed the “role” with distinction and who had the longest reign of all, being the Chiefs power guy from 1995 through 2011. During his tenure Crisafulli shattered all team records ending up with 567 hits, 91 homers and 417 runs batted in.

Following the recently concluded 2012 regular season, you can now pencil in the name of Juan Portes as the newest addition to that renowned list. In a lineup that already had possessed some well respected veteran ICL bats like Jeff Bercume, Peter Copa, Mike Andre, Tony Deshler and Mike Baillargeon, the Chiefs’ acquired Portes in the off season to fill the big shoes that were vacated when Crisafulli called it an ICL career at the end of last year. It has been a so far so good scenario as the Chiefs finished the regular season with a 23-7-2 mark and earned a first round playoff bye.

Portes’ first regular season in a Chiefs uniform yielded the former Minnesota Twins slugger the Intercity League’s Triple Crown. He becomes the team’s first Triple Crown winner since 1997 when Crisafulli turned the trick on the way to leading them to their fourth championship of the decade. Two days after that memorable season ended with a 35-6 record, Crisafulli signed with the Cleveland Indians before returning to Chiefs for fourteen more seasons.

Hitting a lofty .452 (38-84), Portes also smacked five homers, and drove in 24 runs. The shortstop edged out Wakefield’s Scott Searles (.440), Bercume (.435), and Reading’s Zac Talis (.424) for the batting title. Portes, Searles, Bercume and Talis were the only ICL regulars to hit over the coveted .400 mark during the 2012 regular season.

Portes shared the league lead in homers with Watertown Reds’ slugger Dan Chaisson with five each. Bercume, who played a couple of seasons in the Oakland A’s system, and has combined with Portes to give the Chiefs a dynamic 1-2 punch in almost all of the ICL’s offensive statistical categories, finished in the second spot with four round trippers.

In the RBI category, Portes and Reds’ veteran Steve Busby led the way with 24 runs driven in each. Bercume (5th) with 21 RBI and Andre (7th) with 19 RBI both joined Portes in the ICL’s top ten.

 “It’s really an honor winning the ICL’s Triple Crown but we still have some work to do,” said Portes when reached on Friday morning. “It has been an exciting regular season for me and I honestly couldn’t have done it without the lineup I have surrounding around me. From the first day I put on the Chiefs’ uniform I felt like I was at home and that I had known the other guys who I’d just met for years,” he added. “We are like a family now, we stick together on and off the field and our focus right now is to win the ICL championship,” said Portes.

Prior to coming onboard with the Chiefs, Portes spent seven seasons in the Minnesota organization after being drafted in the 15th round of the 2004 MLB draft. During his pro career he played in 666 games hitting .264 with 61 homers and 314 RBI. In addition, he led the Twins major league club in hitting during spring training of 2010 with a .346 average and a team best three homers, including a grand slam (pictured at left being greeted at the plate by Ben Revere) and six RBI against the New York Yankees on March 7. Portes was in the middle of a lineup that featured the likes of Joe Mauer, Ben Revere and Nick Punto. He just missed making the Twins twenty-five man opening day roster and to many observers it was a surprise when was sent back to the minors after such a productive Grapefruit League spring. He spent the rest of that season playing in New Britain and waiting for the call-up to the show that never came. Portes then bypassed a Triple “A” opportunity in 2011 and chose to return to the Boston area to be closer to his family who are in now attendance on a daily basis at virtually every Chiefs game both at home and on the road.

Portes played a year of high school baseball at Malden High before being drafted in 2004. He got his introduction to the Chiefs from Mike DiCato and Jared Freni who he teams up with in the spring to make up the Somerville High coaching staff.

“During the spring, Jared (Freni) and I spoke to Juan about the Chiefs. We told him that even though he had spent all of those years in pro ball that we can play some pretty decent and high level baseball in the ICL too,” said DiCato with a laugh. “Juan was immediately interested in playing for the Chiefs so we contacted Chuck, they talked, and he became a Chief. We are all pretty happy that he did,” added DiCato.

DiCato, who took over as the Somerville High head coach in 2012, has had the opportunity to observe Portes as both a coach and a teammate. “As a first year high school coach, I couldn’t have asked for anyone better than Juan. He is unbelievable with the kids and commands immediate respect”, said the Chiefs veteran and former UMass-Amherst standout who is looking to rejuvenate the Highlanders’ baseball program. “As a teammate on the Chiefs, his approach to the game is outstanding and just being around him brings all of us to a new level of confidence”, added DiCato.  

Chiefs’ seven year veteran Mike Andre, who spent the majority of the season hitting behind Portes in the four hole with usual cleanup man Peter Copa sidelined with a quad injury, echoed DiCato’s comments.“Juan’s just a great teammate and you can just tell how much he loves the game,” said the third baseman. “It doesn’t hurt to have a guy like Juan in the three spot who you think is going to make something good happen each time he comes to the plate. It’s pretty easy to pick up RBI’s when you are hitting behind guys like Juan and Bercy (Jeff Bercume) added the former Merrimack captain and four time ICL all-star.

 “From the moment he first walked into the dugout Juan had an immediate and positive impact,” said manager Chuck Andre. “His ability on the field, how hard he plays the game, his impressive numbers, and his professional resume all speak volumes. But what has impressed me more about Juan is how quickly he became one of the leaders of the team both on and off the field and the way he brings the club together and solidifies our team chemistry. The younger guys gravitate toward him. He’s a class act and we are sure glad to have him,” Andre stated.

On a team whose roster is dotted with no less than twelve former college captains as well as seven other players with professional experience, it is apparent that Portes, who has acquired the nickname “Big Daddy” from his Chiefs’ teammates, has indeed become a leader. 

Portes tried to divert attention away from himself when questioned about his first three months as a Chief. “I really want to thank all of the guys, the coaching staff, and especially Chuck (Andre) for giving me the chance to part of this team,” he added in his now familiar humble fashion. 

The Chiefs must be pretty thankful for him as well. 

Malden, MA- The Reading Bulldogs got a complete game effort from Kevin Church to beat the Chiefs 6-3 in the regular season finale at Maplewood Park on Wednesday night.

The Chiefs finished the regular season at 23-7-2 but saw their ten game winning streak come to an end despite outhitting the Bulldogs 8-7. They now enjoy a first round bye and await their semi-final opponent. They will play either Watertown, Wakefield or Reading, depending on the first round results, in a best of five series most likely starting next Tuesday. Both the Watertown-Medford and Wakefield-Reading best of three series are expected to begin on Friday.

The Chiefs used five pitchers in Wednesday’s game; Rob Machado, Sam McDonough, John Chotkowski, Paul Covelle and Dan Bonito. Machado (1-1) took the loss. The righty worked the first three innings giving up five runs on three hits. He also walked four, struck out one, and hit a couple of batters. McDonough worked a scoreless fourth with an inning ending strikeout, Chotkowski gave up a run on a couple of hits in the fifth, Covelle allowed a hit and walked two in the sixth, and Bonito worked a 1-2-3 seventh for the Chiefs.

Church kept the Chiefs off the board until the bottom of the sixth when they picked up two runs on Jeff Bercume’s second triple of the night, Juan Portes’ double, and a RBI fielder’s choice by Mike Andre.

The Chiefs picked up their third run in the bottom of the seventh on singles by Mike Baillargeon, rookie Christian Veneziano and Bercume and an RBI groundout from Andy Cavanaugh. For Veneziano, it was the first hit of his ICL career and for Cavanaugh, his first RBI.

Steve Buitkus had a big night at the plate for Reading going three for four with three RBI. Bercume reached base four times for the Chiefs (walk, two triples, single) and Portes went two for three, including his sixth inning double.

More regular season wrap-up and playoff coverage tomorrow.

Malden, MA- The Chiefs clinched a first round playoff bye with a 6-0 shutout of the Arlington Trojans in the opening game of a three team doubleheader at Maplewood Park on Monday night. It was their ninth straight win.

Lefty Tim Dunphy was once again superb, raising his season record to 6-1-1 on the season. Dunphy allowed just five hits, struck out three, and pitched the Chiefs to their eleventh shutout of the year. He also helped himself defensively recording four putouts, two of the line drive back to the box variety, to go along with one assist.

The Chiefs, who were the visiting team in the game, struck for a couple of runs in the top of the first inning and threatened to blow the game open against Trojans starter Justin Mansfield. Jeff Bercume and Tony Deshler both drew walks and then executed a double steal. Consecutive RBI singles by Juan Portes and Edward Ovalle made it 2-0 Chiefs and left runners at the corners with nobody out. Mike Andre was next and he hit a rocket right at Trojans first baseman Kevin Hart who easily doubled up Ovalle at first, keeping the Chiefs from a bigger first inning. Portes was left stranded at third when Peter Copa bounced out.

The Chiefs doubled their lead to 4-0 in the top of the second. Hal Landers got things started with a long triple into the left-centerfield gap. Mansfield struck out Nick Leva for the first out and Mike Barbati followed and plated Landers with a sacrifice fly to right jumping the margin to 3-0. Bercume was next and he drilled a sinking opposite field liner to left. Trojan leftfielder Dan Fitzgerald tried to make a running catch and the ball got by him and rolled all the way to the wall with Bercume circling the bases. The play was ruled a single and a three base error, to make it a 4-0 game.

Singles by Portes, Andre and Landers loaded the bases in the top of third but reliever Sean Gustin  (Holy Cross) came on and got Leva to fly out to keep it a 4-0 ballgame.

Dunphy cruised through the next three innings and Gustin kept the Chiefs off the scoreboard in the fourth, fifth and sixth.

The Chiefs picked up a couple of more runs and some breathing room in the top of the seventh. Barbati got things started with a double down the left field line. Bercume moved him to third with a right side grounder and Barbati scored the fifth run on Deshler’s sacrifice fly to right. Portes then singled and Ovalle reached on an infield error before the final run came when Andre lined a single to right, scoring Portes, making it 6-zip.

Dunphy got the Arlington side in order in the bottom seventh to lock up the win. For Dunphy it was his third complete game shutout of the season and his second straight. He blanked Lexington 5-0 in his previous start on July 28 at Tufts University. Dunphy’s ERA now stands at 1.14 in 55.1 innings so far this season.

Portes had three singles, Landers a triple and single, and Andre a single and double to lead the eleven hit attack.

Malden, MA- The Chiefs won their tenth game in a row, behind veteran right-hander Mike DiCato’s complete game effort, 4-2 over the Watertown Reds in the late game at Maplewood on Monday.

The Reds took a brief 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Brendan Casey lined a one out single off DiCato’s foot and Matt McEvoy singled when his fly ball dropped on some miscommunication between Juan Portes and leftfielder Tony Deshler. Will Brennan then singled to load the bases. Ryan Manning followed with a sacrifice fly to center scoring Casey.

The Chiefs scored all of their runs in the bottom of the second inning against former Triple A pitcher Randy Newsom. Mike Andre got things going when he lined a double off the wall in right. Peter Copa then singled sending Andre to third. Hal Landers tied the game at 1-1 when he lined a single to left that scored Andre. Newsom got Mike Barbati to fly to short right for the first out before Paul Yanakopoulos singled to center load the bases. Jeff Bercume then drilled a shot into the right field corner that appeared to clear the bases but was ruled a ground rule double. The disputed call scored Copa and Landers but Yanakopulos was sent back to third and Bercume returned to second, having to settle for two RBI’s and a double and a 3-1 Chiefs lead. Deshler then drew a walk to reload the bases for Juan Portes who picked up his team leading 24th RBI of the season on an infield grounder scoring Yanakopulos making it a 4-1 contest.

Watertown chipped a run off the lead to make it 4-2 in the top of the third. Mac Jacobson doubled, went to third on Luke Begley’s infield grounder, and eventually scored on another grounder to third with veteran Steve Busby getting the RBI.

DiCato kept the Reds off the scoreboard over the next three innings. Newsom gave way to reliever Pat O’Donnell to start the fifth and the former Tufts standout blanked the Chiefs over the next two frames.

It was still a 4-2 game entering the top of the seventh. Dan Chaisson led off the inning with a sharp single to left. DiCato then hit pinch hitter Kyle Thebado with a pitch. He then got a big out when he struck out Steve Panza. Mike Giordarno was next up and was thrown out at first by DiCato on a chopper in front of the mound with Chaisson and Thebado moving into scoring position. Sean Callahan-Montague then drew a walk to load the bases. Barbati ended the game when he came up with defensive play of the year to date when he ranged far to his right to glove and flip a grounder in one motion to Portes covering second to force Callahan-Montague and rob Casey of a sure game tying hit.

DiCato (4-3) allowed seven hits and struck out six. Newsom (0-1) went four innings and surrendered eight hits while striking out one.

Medford, MA- The Chiefs beat the stormy skies as well as the Mooney Dental Tanners 2-0 at Tufts University on Sunday evening.

In a game that was delayed twenty minutes at the start due to threatening conditions and finished in a steady rain shower, the Chiefs rode the two-hit pitching of ace Jared Freni to take their eighth straight win.

The Chiefs took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.  Mike Andre got things started when he doubled into the right field corner off Tanner lefty starter Chris Pessotti. Mike DiCato moved Andre to third with a sacrifice bunt and when the throw to first to get DiCato was low, the Chiefs had runners on the corners with nobody out. Pessotti got then Nick Leva to pop up for the first out. Mike Barbati’s infield grounder to shortstop scored Andre with DiCato being forced at second. Pessotti got Jeff Bercume swinging to keep it a 1-0 game after two innings.

The Tanners mounted their most serious scoring threat in the top of the third. After an infield throwing error by DiCato at first, Johnny McDonald singled sharply up the middle. With runners at first and second, Carlton Lentini grounded to Juan Portes at short with both runners moving into scoring position. Freni and the Chiefs got out of the inning and kept the shutout intact when Edward Ovalle made a nice running catch of a Joe Burnham liner to left.

The lead doubled to 2-0 in the home half of the fifth inning. Leva blooped a 3-2 pitch into right for a single. Barbati moved Leva up to second with a sacrifice bunt. Jon Byrne, making his first start of the season in the DH role, was next and he grounded out to McDonald at second base with Leva moving to third. Bercume then delivered Leva with  long double to right. McDonald robbed Hal Landers with a diving stop of a hard grounder earmarked for a RBI single to right to retire the side.

That was all the scoring either team could generate as Freni retired the last ten Tanners in a row and Pessotti blanked the Chiefs over the final two innings.

Freni raised his record to 8-1-1 on the year and recorded nine strikeouts while walking just one. Pessotti, now 2-4, scattered six hits, struck out three and walked a couple.

Chiefs Chatter......The Chiefs are now 21-6-2 on the season. Sunday’s shutout was the tenth thrown by the pitching staff in 29 games so far in 2012.....On Monday, the Chiefs will host a three team doubleheader at Maplewood Park (Malden Catholic). In the opener, the Chiefs will play the Arlington Trojans at 6:30 PM and then take on the Watertown Reds in the nightcap at approximately 8:30 PM........The Chiefs will conclude their regular season schedule on Wednesday night when they host the Reading Bulldogs at Maplewood at 7:45 PM.