BASEBALL: Is asking for a Temple City-Monrovia championship game in Division V too much to ask? Probably, but they both have a good shot in the quarters. Meanwhile, Pasadena Poly continues to play "Survive and Advance"
Above: Temple City's Mike Mendoza lets out a scream as he approaches home plate after hitting a monster home run to take a 2-1 lead over Gabrielino during the Rams' 3-1 win.
CIF-SS Playoffs
Thursday's Quarterfinals
Division V
Monrovia (22-5) at St. Paul (12-18), 3:15 p.m.
Game Notes: I know the Del Rey League is tough and boasts the division's top-team in Bishop Amat, but 18 losses is 18 losses. The Swordsmen beat two ordinary teams in the playoffs, Whittier Christian (5-1) and Workman (11-4), and Monrovia's Eddie McKiernan has five innings left to pitch after throwing five in relief in Tuesday's 7-6 win over Campbell Hall. La Salle beat St. Paul 6-1 late in the season so is there any reason to believe the Wildcats won't advance?
Prediction: Monrovia and the key will be how much McKiernan has to pitch with a Tuesday semifinal game looming.
Temple City (19-7) at Brentwood (19-4), 3:15 p.m.
Game Notes: Let me say this about Brentwood and there impressive record. They lost twice, and lost big to Mission Hills Alemany (13-7 and 6-0) and Alemany finished 8-19 and last in the Mission League. Brentwood also lost to Whittier Christian (3-1) , a team that St. Paul defeated in the playoffs. The Rams got a great effort from Brian Death on Friday and have Kyle MacDonald and Mike Mendoza available, and they're both more than capable.
Prediction: Temple City. Why not, they have played a tougher schedule, and three of their losses came against McKiernan. I don't expect the Rams to get past Bishop Amat in the semifinals, but they should be playing on Tuesday.
Division VI
Oxford Academy (20-4-1) at Pasadena Poly (23-1), 3:15 p.m.
Game notes: Should be another stiff test for Poly, but with Robbie Rasmussen only throwing three innings in Tuesday's 2-1 win over Desert Hot Springs, it leaves the UCLA-bound lefty with a full seven innings on Friday. In three innings, Rasmussen (11-0) struck-out nine straight to end the game. He has struck out 151 in 64 innings and only has allowed three earned runs all season.
Prediction: Should be a close game, Oxford Academy has a team ERA of 2.45, but the problem is they only bat .284 as a team. Against Rasmussen, that's not going to get it done.
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About this blog
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Melendez worked as a correspondent for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune for three years and later landed a job as a freelance writer at the Los Angeles Times before accepting an offer at The Orange County Register covering high schools. Melendez covered Major League Soccer at The Register for three years before being promoted to report on the Lakers, Angels and Dodgers for the Web. Melendez also worked for the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Fresno Bee, Oakland Tribune and The Boston Globe. E-mail opinions, suggestions and tips to miguel.melendez@sgvn.com. |
Mike is a moron - who is completely cluess - I know the guy and he is as dumb as he sounds.
Mike is a moron - who is completely cluess - I know the guy and he is as dumb as he sounds.
Mike is a moron - who is completely cluess - I know the guy and he is as dumb as he sounds.
Mike is a moron - who is completely cluess - I know the guy and he is a dumb as he sounds.
Mike: Actually Poly will face a PUBLIC school on Tuesday with enrollment over 1,600. Should they make it to Saturday's finals they could face another PUBLIC school that also has the same size enrollment, San Jacinto. Monrovia, Temple City and Poly all deserve your positive support on Tuesday.
All the schools around here are small schools with the exception of arcadia and alhambra, but that doesnt take away from their accomplishments. Monrovia plays at the same level in football and basketball and hasnt had any success, so maybe you should give the program some credit. Their non league schedule over the last few years has included wins over glendora, st francis, charter oak, covina, los altos, st bonaventure all schools that are at least one or two div above them. As for poly this is their year so they better take advantage of it. If they dont start scoring runs alverno will beat them
I think what u Monrovia bashers do not get is that Eddie is the real deal. Who does Poly play? Oh that's right they play in a weak league in division 6. Talk about a one man team! First Desert Hot Springs then Oxford Academy. Who's next, Ramona Convent? Let us not be too excited about either of these programs and keep this in context. Both Poly and Monrovia are small schools who would get pounded by the likes of Div. 1 or 2 schools. Be real. Didn't Poly lose to Monrovia? QUIET PRIVATE SCHOOL SISSY'S.
Is he a Roemer? Probably not, but u can't argue against his record. Who knows he might be like Aradia's Bruninyckx - be a great high school pitcher in high school and a wash out in college. But for now he has proven himself at this level.
whatever all you guys can say he is overrated but he is still 11-1 with 8 straight playoff wins and a CIF ring on his finger.
mckiernan is overratted hes not that good.. robbie is by far the best pitcher in the SG valley
Gunter, how is pitching every game in the playoffs going to hurt McKiernan's college prospects? Wes Roemer was a workhorse his senior year at Glendora and is now one of the top pitchers in country at Cal State Fullerton. If anything, his willingness to go out there all the time will enhance his charachter to the college scouts. They want guys who want the ball
hey what do you think will be more of an exciting game TC vs. Monrovia or Bishop Amat vs. Monrovia?
what about loyola playing crespi in the semifinal round of Division III?
monrovia iz good u guyz should go watch them play on tuesday
mckiernan is an amazing pitcher that keeps his head up.
Hey gunter, have you ever seen Monrovia play. I think dancin with the stars is on
Why is everyone sure Mckiernan is gonna get hurt when hes thrown the same amount of innings as every ace around. And why does the team get blasted when they have 6 starters that started on last years title team. Those kids have 50 wins in 2 years. Whats there to b bitter about. They dont talk any crap, just go out and play the game. If you wanna rag u should check out St. Pauls act. What a disgrace for a program
who r u 2 judge mckiernan take some time of of ur computer life and go watch mckiernan play hez an amazing baseball player and trys very hard he doesnt have a piss poor attitude if u actually knew him
godbless, mckiernan ur doing wonderful show everyone wut ur all made of!!!!!!
#2!!!!
mckiernan iz doing great but dont u know that pitchers armz dont stay all good they do wear out and yeah sumtymes they have 2 take a break but stop talkin all this mess and no even saying who u r wut r u guyz scared of mckiernan?!?!
mckiernan great game and keep ur head up!!
mckiernan iz being a team player hes not in all thiz alone.itd called being a team anyone heard of it?!?!hes an amazing baseball player and he pitchs great.just 2 key everyone in hiz arm iznt giving out thank u very much.he doesnt have a pissy attitude either hes just sure of himself and knows he can do it.mckierna iz a great baseball player/family member/friend and student and hes worked very hard 4 wut hez got.he actually pitched an amazing game 2day and guess wut...he won it 2!!!
mckiernan dont worry bout wut other ppl r saying u have a bright future ahead of u and everyones just jealous
mckiernan iz being a team player hes not in all thiz alone.itd called being a team anyone heard of it?!?!hes an amazing baseball player and he pitchs great.just 2 key everyone in hiz arm iznt giving out thank u very much.he doesnt have a pissy attitude either hes just sure of himself and knows he can do it.mckierna iz a great baseball player/family member/friend and student and hes worked very hard 4 wut hez got.he actually pitched an amazing game 2day and guess wut...he won it 2!!!
mckiernan dont worry bout wut other ppl r saying u have a bright future ahead of u and everyones just jealous
Poly plays @ Beaumont on Tuesday. Should be interesting to see if they throw Rasmussen.
I believe someone called me a homer for picking all three area teams to advance...guess I'm a homer and I'm right
Temple City beats Brentwood 5-2, and will now face Bishop Amat in Tuesday's semifinals.
Monrovia also won, beating St. Paul 6-1 and will face winner of Saturday's game between Cantwell Sacred Heart and Woodcrest Christian, a game played at 11 a.m. at Sacred Heart.
Every pitcher in the CIF gets the same 10 Innings a week so your your "so called point" is moot!
FYI Monrovia 6 St. Paul 1
Pasadena Poly 1, Oxford Academy 0
Rasmussen throws a no-hitter and strikes out 13. Rasmussen now has 198 strikeouts on the season - that total is the tenth all-time in CIF-SS single-season history. It's also the most strikeouts in a single-season since 1992. With three more strikeouts, he'll be the first pitcher to throw 200 strikeouts in a single-season since Apple Valley Christian's Craig VanHHulzen struckout 216 in 1990.
That's what I've been saying Anonymous #2. Read my last post about Monrovia, without McKiernan, Monrovia's dust. I basically stated that no matter what happens to Monrovia, it's a lose-lose situation for McKiernan. He pitches every game to win CIF and potentially loses his spark in the college level, he doesn't pitch every game and he loses CIF.
mckiernan rox!!!! number 2 4 life babbby!!!!!
dont b jealous ppl
you are right about pitching every other game, but in Mckiernan's case, it's every game. Get a clue Gunter. Don't let your ego get in the way and recognize the Monrovia is a one man party. Poly have atleast a few role players, but Monrovia with out Eddie are a Mediocre team.
Apparently anonymous needs to answer his own question. Have you ever pitched a baseball game? Shooting basketballs and pitching baseballs produce two different outcomes. No other sport tears down a person's performance because the athlete performs the same way pitching a baseball does. Gee I wonder why pitchers don't pitch EVERY INNING OF EVER GAME. Sorry, but this is reality injuries and pitcher arms DO WEAR OUT.
Ummm, actually La Salle wasn't in my preseason top-10 and I took some hits for that.
Maranatha was in my original top-10 and people got all over me about that. Seems they wound up having a decent season.
Pre-Season Top-10
1. Monrovia
2. St. Francis
3. Pasadena Poly
4. Alhambra
5. Temple City
6. Rosemead
7. Arcadia
8. South Pasadena
9. La Canada
10. Maranatha
Let's see, Monrovia: quarterfinals, Poly: quarterfinals, Alhambra: league champs and second round where it lost to Nogales in 10 innings, Temple City: quarterfinals, Arcadia: first round where it let one slip away, otherwise a solid season). I took heat for putting them in the top-10 as well.
Rosemead, South Pasadena and La Canada, oh well.
Last I checked, South Pas and La Canada are in a tough league and La Canada came up with some big wins. San Marino slipped by me as well.
Three of my top-5 teams are still playing. Not bad for a guy new to covering the area.
I guess I blew it on picking St. Francis a bit high? :)
Keep in mind, my top 10 came before the season before we could see any teams on the field as was for a reference. I went by what many coaches and other sources were telling me.
I doubt if there were too many people that thought St. Francis and La Salle wouldn't make the playoffs.
I don't think anyone in this wonderful baseball blog is Nostradamis, I don't profess to be either.
Rather than using a derogatory screen name, why don't you take the lead of people on the volleyball blog and step up to the plate with your own top 10 so everyone can discuss?
Mr. Scott G.
If you can't say in without fear, you shouldn't say it at all.
Abuse for school recognition? Have you ever played a sport Gunter? Have a clue! Maybe every athlete with talent should tell their high school they cant play cuz their waiting for college. Have fun at piano practice Gunter.
Hey Scott,
What are you doing on this blog- I'm still waiting to see how your preseason top 10 picks of South Pasadena, Rosemead and La Salle are doing in the playoffs. Stick to volleyball.
I think the POly and Monrovia coahes have done a nice job of not over working their aces this year.
If McKiernan doesn't pitch majority of the innings, Monrovia's dust. If he does, he can kiss his college career goodbye because his arm's going to wear out, but who cares right? The amount of abuse that kid puts up just for school recognition isn't even worth it. Cocky as he may be, when his arms worn out; who's to blame?
Rasmussen-71 inn. olivares from Bishop-69 inn. Mckiernan 73 inn. Wow those Monrovia coaches really are abusive
Scott...my pleasure. Nice meeting you at the game last night.
Scott...my pleasure. Nice meeting you at the game last night.
Thanks Anon for clearing that up.
Mr Murphree, some people who post on the internet don't want some of the people who read this to know anyhting about them...say for example their street address and phone number which for you happens to be an easy thing to find....does that help answer your question?
What is up with the Anonymous?
If you are too afraid to put your Name to it then just keep your trap shut!!
St. Paul? are you joking?
W L T Pct. 12 18 0 .400
They can't even win half the time. They have more problems to worry about than Eddie McKiernan.
The Wildcats are coming St. Paul " Be afraid, Be very afraid"
Scott
The 2007 CIF Academic Awards. Arcadia, La Salle, Poly represent.
so monrovia is just a one man show??? i guess eddie just runs off of the mound to get the ball when they hit it its not like his defense catches the ball or anything right?? or o wait eddie is the only guy that comes up at bat and gets all the runs in himself its not the other 8 players on the team that put in hard work and do a job when the team needs it. lol you people are so funny talkin all this crap ya we got a good guy on the mound for us so what but when they hit the ball our defense makes the plays and we can hit to so what ever keep talkin mess.
Which Southern Section list are you talking about? CIF awards generally don't come out until about mid-June.
The 2007 CIF southern Section Award list is out.
You won't find St. Francis anywhere on it. In fact the WSGV is not represented very well.
Yes... League titles and one CIF title due to Mckiernan's arm. Talk about abuse. Hopefully the kid will have some left so he can get a few innings in at college.
How did Saint Francis get carried into this mess? We hate St. Paul and would love to see a local team knock them off. Good luck Monrovia.
Mckiernan might carry Monrovia but where do you get undisciplined. Their two coaches have won league like 8 out of ten years and a cif title. I dont know what program your watching. And by the way its not orange county usually teams from this area cant win without their stars.
Again... like someone mentioned, Monrovia is a ONE-TRICK Pony. Without McKiernan they are NOTHING! They are a very undisciplined team. St. Paul should get them. Hopefully Monrovia's coach will take into consideration McKiernan's arm and not throw him every inning so his alarm will hold up for his future.
McKiernan has a piss poor attitude huh? Hes won all 8 cif games hes pitched in in his high school career. He competes every pitch and since youre probably a SF or Lasalle fan you know alot about jealousy.Remember last years game 9-4 Monrovia against SF. Thats a D-5 team you talk so much crap about when you compare scores.
silentmajority- nice comment you are wrong. mckiernan shuts down st paul no problem!
Oxford Academy looks like a good matchup for Poly. Oxford's ace went 7 on Tuesday so he will only have 3 innings allowed for pitching in Friday's game. Rasmussen on the other hand can go 7.
On a side note part time left field starter #17 for Poly (Pennington) will be inelligible for Friday's game after being ejected on a collision at the plate in Tuesday's game.
rasmussen's picture is on the home page, the bottom most one
Monrovia could have one of their softball pitchers pitching and still beat SF.
why is Fred a hommer?
don't get bitter get better.
Hey anonymous,dude what do you have a doctrine in behavior.Lay off the 17yr old' and stop acting like one.Keep your opinion about peoples attitudes to yourself.
st. paul is going to hammer monrovia. Monrovia without McKiernan is nothing. the kid gets rattled to easily and has a piss poor attitude.
just an FYI poly's field is a joke!!!!
Where is Rasmussen on Baseballamerica.com? i looked for him on the web site in the top 50 hs and could not find him anywhere is that a mistake?
Fred, a bit of a homer aren't you?
who cares what La Salle did.
AD Chuck Ellis said they're putting in a home run fence at Poly for Friday's game...
Fred J, Thanks and interesting re: the fence.
I just spoke with Poly, and they will play at home. They're putting in a fence, which is suggested, but not required by CIF...
Will the Poly game be at Poly or a neutral site?
FYI, La Salle beat St. Paul on 5/8 6-1, also again 5/10 6-0.
Fred - Max preps has not been updated in a while. Rasmussen struck out 17 against Webb in 6 innings, 17 K's again against New Roads in 7 innings, then the 9 k's against Desert Hot Springs. Thats 185 stikeouts in 77 innings.
go to baseballamerica.com...this should end all debates about rasmussen