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Keep Them Doggies Rollin.. Rawhide !

Posted by Patrick Piteo at Jun 15, 2003 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )
Bulldogs – 14 Or Lady Of Grace – 2 On a great night for baseball, the young travel dogs of RGMVM were on the prowl at Marine Park in Brooklyn for another match up with the Grace All - Stars. The Bulldogs would hand the ball over to young flame-thrower Chris "Big Dog" Piteo, who would unleash a barrage of heaters keeping the opposing offense off-balance. The Dog pound would unleash their offense with a frenzy of hits over first three innings to break the game open. The Doggies broke out the new team bat (straight from the box) that was quickly handed down from batter to batter. The new bat was nicknamed the “The Brooklyn Equalizer”. Doing the damage for the Dog Pound were heavy hitters. Chris Piteo (3-3, Double, Triple, Home-Run) John Codelia (2-3, Home-Run) Mike Guglielmi (3-3, Double, Home-Run) Brett Buser (3-3, Double) Matt Fox (2-3, Double) Robbie Hofmann (1-2, Double) Bryan Torres (2-3, Double) The doggie defense would get into the act with swift infield defense by Robbie Hofmann, Bryan Torres, Brandon Acosta. The defensive play of the game came from catcher Mike Guglielmi, who turned an astonishing double play on a squeeze bunt attempt in the fourth to help close out the game. Not to be lost in the game was the gutsy performance by Matt Fox who battled through an early injury and came back to close the game out on the mound in dramatic fashion. Woof.. Woof. Go Bulldogs... Bulldogs – 21 Good Shepherd - 1 The RGMVM Bulldogs took to the Parkway for an early Father's day morning contest with the Shepherd Boys at Bergen Beach in Brooklyn. The Sun was shinning and the weather was hot, but not as hot as the Bulldogs offense. The Dogs would get plenty high-powered offense in this one, getting it done for the Dog Pound were heavy hitters. - John Codelia (1-3, Double 2 RBI’s) - Robbie Hofmann (2-3, Double - 2 RBI’s) - Matt Fox (2-3, Double - 4 RBI's) - Chris Piteo (3-3, Home Run - 4 RBI’s) - Brandon Acosta (2-3, Grand Slam - 5 RBI's) The dogs would launch 2 Home Runs on the day, the first a bomb to dead center field by Chris "Big Dog" Piteo, the second would be a laser beam shot way down the left field line to clear the bases for a grand slam by third baseman Brandon Acosta. The Doggies would use four different doggie hurlers to chalk up the zero's to combine on a no-hitter. - Robbie "R-Train" Hofmann (2 Innings - 4 Strikeouts) - Brandon Acosta (1 Inning - 2 Strikeouts) - Nick Lante (1 Inning - 3 Strikeouts) - Brett Buser (1 Inning - 3 Strikeouts) Getting it done behind the plate, calling a great game and gunning down opposing runners was young catcher Mike "wheels" Guglielmi. Woof.. Woof... Go Bulldogs. The win puts the doggies at 12-0 on the season. imageimage
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Junior Baseball Magazine On-Line

Posted by Patrick Piteo at Jun 10, 2003 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )

Hitting is all about timing, and pitching is all about upsetting that timing. But how, as a hitter, can you upset the pitcher's timing? Take control of the 'tempo' of your at-bat. You'll notice a lot of college and major league hitters take what seems a long time to get into the batter's box and get set. They look at their third base coach, step in, step out again, adjust their batting gloves, take a practice swing, step in....sometimes call for time and step out again. When you slow down the pace of your at-bat, you accomplish a number of things.You give yourself more time to think about the situation, the count, the runners on base, where the fielders are positioned, etc. You can focus more on your task, and get relaxed. You can hit on your own terms and shift the advantage to yourself. Also, when you slow things down, you take control of when the pitcher actually pitches the ball. A pitcher who is 'on' that particular day is enjoying his success as well as a sense of control over the proceedings. You can steal a little of that control from him by stepping out, and with it, some of his confidence and his timing. When a pitcher gets ahead of you in the count, don't immediately jump back in there to allow him to keep his momentum going. Step out, make him wait, survey the field, Think about what you need to do next. When the other team has just made a great play on the previous batter, or turned a double-play, they're pumped up and on their toes, ready to make you their next victim. This is an ideal time to slow things down, to allow some of that momentum they just built up to drain away. Conversely, if the pitcher is struggling, and can't seem to throw strikes, stay in the box and get set to hit immediately. He'll more than likely rush his next pitch, Or, if the defense just booted a ball on the previous hitter (or flubbed a foul ball you hit), get back in right away to exploit their deflated confidence. When you are slowing things down, be subtle about it, and don't get the umpire angry with you. If you're too obvious, he'll order you back in the box, and not let you take your time again during that at-bat. A smart umpire will know exactly what you're up to, but if you don't make him look foolish, he'll let you work your strategy to your benefit. Remember - although the game cannot proceed until the pitcher throws the ball, the pitcher cannot pitch until you're in the box. You have more control over the game as a hitter than you realize, and with that control should come a higher level of success image
The 8 year old RGMVM Bulldog travel team were invited by the Brooklyn Cyclones to take the field for the All Americans Home Run Hitting contest held this past Sunday At Keyspan Park . The kids shagged fly balls with the future major league ballplayers that were picked in last weeks Major League Amateur Draft. Also having the time of their lives were the coaches. Coaches Tony "Snapples" Lante, John "Say Hey" Codelia, Eddie "The Quick" Acosta, and Rob "Joltin Joe" Hofmann caught their share of line drives and pop flys. I am happy to report that no Bulldogs were run over in the coaches quest to fame and fortune. At the time of this writing no contracts were offered to the coaches. There was even talk of making Matt "Moose" Hofmann the new mascot for the Cyclones, but coach Rob "Joltin Joe" Hoffman shot down that idea, saying " The Moose Is Just Too Valuable To Lend Out With The Team Approaching The Playoffs". The boys each received a Playstaion 2 MLB video game compliments of 989 Sports. The home run hitting contest was shown on television on the Fox Sport Network. The team is getting real used to the television exposure as they also appeared in March on Good Day New York on Fox 5. Where they showed off their hitting and all around baseball skills. The event was sponsored by The Long Ball Club which is a sponsor of both the team and the league. The bulldogs would like to thank Gary Perone of The Brooklyn Cyclones for inviting the team to this fun event and for his tremendous help and support. KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK BULLDOGS..... WOOF...WOOF......
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Woof..Woof. The Dog Pound Rolls On !

Posted by Patrick Piteo at Jun 8, 2003 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )
Bulldogs – 9 Or Lady Of Grace – 3 The Sun arrived and so did the Bulldogs. The RGMVM Bulldogs took to the field at Sunny Gill Hodges Stadium in Brooklyn for another matchup with the Grace All-Stars. The dogs would break out early in the first behind some hard hitting from Matt Fox, Chris Piteo, and Bryan Torres driving in 4 runs in the first. They would hand the pitching duties over to young flame-thrower Chris "Big Dog" Piteo, he battle throw a tough first inning and then got in gear and used a sharp fastball to keep the doggies in front. The Bulldogs would chip away scoring single runs over the next 5 innings with everyone contributing stealing bases and moving runners with timely hits. Getting the big hit for the Bulldogs was once again Johnny Murphy crushing a drive in the right center field gap for a double, driving in run. The Dogs would hand the ball over to crafty right hander Matt Fox, young Fox would battle through a tough jam in the 4th making a nice play on a come backer getting a force at the plate to kill a rally. The doggie defense came to play, with Chris Piteo killing an opposing rally grabbing a hard line drive from the air in turning a double play. Brandon "the Vacuum" Acosta made a tremendous diving play in the hole to steal a hit away from the opposition, and Bryan Torres made a great grab of a sinking liner in the 6th inning to help close the game. With a solid mix of Pitching, defense and timely hitting the dogs continue to roll. The win keeps the doggies unbeaten at 9-0. Bulldogs – 15 The Bergen Beach Panthers – 3 On an overcast Sunday morning the travel dogs of RGMVM shed their raincoats and took to the field for a match up with the Bergen Beach Panthers. The Bulldogs would hand the ball to young hurler Robbie "R-Train" Hofmann for the first two innings and he would cruise through in impressive fashion striking out 6 panthers along the way. The Bulldog offense would get going early behind the hard-hitting middle of the Bulldog Lineup. John Codelia (3-3), 2 Doubles, 1 Triple), Mike Guglielmi (2-2, 4 RBI's), Jonathon Murphy (1-1, Double) Ricky Fleri (1-2, Double). The most impressive drive of the game for the Bulldogs was a long screaming line drive to right field by Johnny Murphy who narrowly missed a Home Run of the top of the fence. The Bulldogs would then hand the ball over to John Codelia who would take the mound for the first time this season and he would battle through a jam in the 3rd and cruise through the 4th striking out 5 along the way. The Dogs handed the ball to young flame-thrower Nick Lante who used his riding fastball to shut the door on another Bulldogs victory. With The win the dog pack stays unbeaten at 10-0. Woof…Woof…
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Coach Pat "Buttermaker" Shanley Game Talk

Posted by Patrick Piteo at May 31, 2003 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )

Each Week This Area Will Contain Baseball Talk And Coach Pat "Morris Buttermaker" Shanley's Quote Of The Week. This Weeks Quote: "Get them there gloves and bats ready cause the season is almost here. April 3 Opening Day... Yippee I can not wait !!!!!!!!!!! See You Out There Until Then This Is Coach "Buttermaker" Shanley Telling You To Be Safe, And Have Fun Out There" imageimage