BASEBALL: 2008 All-Area team

Good job Old Timer but you fail to mention the other 8 ranking by PG who popped 1.96 at the area code camp last year. Seems they're equally rated according to PG just one hit almost 100 points higher.

Just Saying: Perfect Game reports are out. Nigolian's score is an(8). They rate these young men from 1-10. 10 being the highest. 8-Rating reads: (POTENTIAL MID ROUND PICK/DEFINITE D1 PROSPECT). The overall ratings 1-10 have their own diffinations, for example a 6-RATING is "POSSIBLE D1 PROSPECT, DEFINITE D2 OR JUCO PROSPECT."

I also recently learned that at the 2008 USA-BASEBALL 16-U CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES in Arizona, Nigolian's pop time was clock at 1.90. And yes, he is still 16.

Anyway, we need to move on and I whish all our area's young ball players do well for themself both in school and in their ball play.

If you call scoring four runs in the seventh inning against a pair of relief pitchers for a 4-3 win easy, sure. Keep in mind, South Pasadena's No. 1 didn't start.

Didn't Prep League Poly beat the Rio League South Pasadena fairly easily?

ex-coach: You can hold the highest regard for your choice which is fine but making statements like "clearly a standout" & "in control of every situation"? Watching MLB I would never say any player is in complete control of every situation! Each of these individuals has their attributes and weaknesses so you can’t cherry pick which stats wish to include. Saying well I know Arcadia plays small ball so his offensive stats may be suspect. Please, the stats are the stats which make them fact not fantasy. Defensive stats & offensive stats hold equal weight when you’re judging a players overall ability. Do some catchers go along way because of their defensive ability? Absolutely! The truth is no one here is popping 1.90 or 1.85's, so you have to put evrything into perspective. I noticed that these individuals have participated in Perfect Game Showcases and have been rated on their overall ability by a highly regarded nationwide organization. Unfortunately one of the players ratings has not been posted yet so let’s wait and see how a neutral observer rates them.

In reading the blogs, I noticed there is a lot of name bashing and complaining about the selections made for the simple reason that their family member or teammate has not made the list.After watching many different high school league games, including So. Pas. vs. La Canada,Nigolian from Arcadia is the best overall catcher in the area. Before anyone judges his stats, they need to watch him play. He is a general on the field, in control of every situation, and handles his entie pitching staff professionally. Arcadia is known for its small ball. That might be an indication of why his batting average isn't that high. I've watched Adamson and other catchers in the area play, and Nigolian is a clear standout. I would bet his pop time is better than Adamson's.
Scott- I think your selections are correct and a good representation of the area's talent.

91310 WOW!!! Salzmans stats! .352 BA, .407 OBP, .484 SLG% 18 RBI's while missing last 3 games due to injury! 7 Sacs, 5HPB 7 BBs, 14 singles, 4 dbls, 2 triples, & 1 HR. 4 for 6 against Rodarte past 2 seasons. Rodarte was(Mission League MVP ) & Division 3 CIF player of the year! Salzman was 3-4 with 3 RBI's against Bishop Amat. 5 PB's last 2 seasons. Has been clocked as low as 1.96! As for not making Mission League honors, Rodriguez and Hunter had better years. Finally, Salzman played in a much tougher league.

The kid from pasadena hit higher much higher then nigolian, and on a much worse team so there were not nearly as many RBI chances.

Olivarez was our utility player so he made first team. If there were an honorable mention team, Adamson would've been on it.

Scott:

Alhough I rarely comment outside of the Football strings, and appreciate your efforts and candor on various All-Area selections, I think you and Keith made a significant mistake in your catcher selections by leaving off John Adamson of South Pasadena. Taking nothing away from the selections made, but based on stats, competition and peer recognition it amazes me that he was left off the list in 2008. Based on Maxpreps ad All-League awards here is the comparative information.

Nigolian (1st Team): .257BA - 19 for 74 - 19 RBI's - 1 for 1 SB / .982 FP - 10A - 4E- 4PB - 1st Team All Pacific League

Olivarez (1st Team): .309 BA - 29 for 94 - 9 RBI's - 10 for 10 SB / .979 FP - 33A - 10PB - 1st Team All Almont League

Salzman (2nd Team): No information on Max Preps but not selected as either 1st or 2nd Team All - League.

Adamson: .409BA - 30 for 74 - 16 RBI's - 5 for 7 SB / .946 FP - 18A -6E - 1st Team All-Rio Hondo League

In addition against common opponents TC ad La Salle Nigolian went 0-5 and 0-2 respectively while Adamson went 6-14 and 0-2.

Finally, and this is just my perspective as a fan, which I believe would be backed up by most Rio Hondo League coaches, Adamson had probably the quickest release and strongest arm at catcher I have seen in quite some time.

Scott, while Adamson had a slightly lower FP than the others the difference was negligible and his other stats would appear to have far outweighed any negative there. If there had been an honorable mention category for Baseball, I believe Adamson and Olivarez should have been 1-2 or 2-1 with the others in the HR category.

Baseball Gods: Are you saying the Prep League's as strong as the Rio Hondo League? And what year a kid is doesn't matter. Leagues may put a senior over a junior, but not here. Kilbury did get a win over Northview, a CIF champion.

Well, Scott, that explains it. I don't view the Rio Hondo League as anything special over the top Prep League team and the other out-of-league opponents Pasadena Poly played. I also prefer awards for a senior over a junior (Talt as opposed to Kilbury; award Kilbury next year as a senior).

Congratulations to all these kids! Noe, Bryce and Richard certainly deserve being named the top pitchers. Keep up the hard work Noe!

Observer: Since we did the team by position, Nigolian was the catcher. Olivarez was the unanimous choice for utility.

Baseball Gods: Where would you have put him? Who does he replace? Kilbury and Rutherford were pretty dominant as well and, I have to say, against much tougher competition.

I agree with halofan unless you put Nigolian on for defense alone than he doesn't belong on that list atleast not 1st team. He lead the team in rbi but on a team that didn't score many runs to begin with. Since you didn't Oliveres in a pitching spot like he should have been he should of been the 1st team catcher since that was his other position since he over shadowed Nigolians numbers and than put a real utl. guy up there..

Scott: Dylan is an absolutely superb centerfielder. And a fast pitcher for a high schooler. I meant to take nothing away from him. My point was the slight to A.J. Talt, who was dominating on the mound and will probably be pitching for a D-1 school next year or as a sophomore the year after that, in a program that went to the CWS this season. He also hit .339 and drove in 22 (2nd most on his team) in a fine 21-4 season at Poly.

Halo, Nigolian did lead his team in RBIs.

How do you put nigolian on 1st
team he hit 257, that pathetic
there are other catchers that deserved it more then him

Relax everyone it's just one guys opinion! You have schools that play in small ball fields and others that play in airports. Some players play in tougher leagues than others and some players mean more to their team than others (which has no bearing at all except for MVP honors!) Some guys barely hit above the Mendoza line on team 1 and you have D1 recruits on team 2. Go figure?????

Wilson hit 240 How does his season not compare? How is Smoley or Doeppel not on first team Scott?

Joshmo, Rayn Doeppel is a solid player, as is Palffy. But let's face it, having seen both play, there's no doubt Covey's a more solid all-around player, and he's a very good center fielder. And, in my opinion, there's no way Palffy's season compares to Nick Wilson's. Wilson, as Covey, not only was lights out as a pitcher, he was outstanding at his fielding position. And, I'm sorry, I can't get overly excited about home runs in a band box. When I saw La Salle play St. Francis, my impression was a light-hitting, spray-hitting type of team, not a bunch of home run hitters. Sweeping the Rio Hondo League doesn't put a kid on the All-Area team. Your guys had good seasons, but so did the ones who were chosen.

Baseball Gods, Covey meant more (both pitching and hitting-wise) to Maranatha, a team that reached the finals in the same division, than Talt did. And, he didn't go in as a pitcher, he went in as an outfielder.

scott.. this is by far the worst all area team ever... you must be lost if you think these people deserve it.. when you have people leading the area in homeruns and RBIs and they dont make anything, it makes no sense...how can you put ryan doeppel as a 2nd team all area outfield...he never played outfield his entire la salle career.. are you slow... how is he not first team all area he batted over 400 and had 20 plus RBIs and 5 homeruns in the hardest league, and then michael palffy who batted 400 had 6 home runs and 30 plus RBIs, both also made 2nd team all CIF but they dont make first team all area doesnt make sense.. i hope your glad with your choices... but my mentally challenged brother would have made a better all area team.. and by the way you must have an IQ below a person who is slow...what do you have against la salle.. it seems like in every sport you never give them any respect when they are always in the hardest league.. i dont get you scott..la salle swept the rio hondo league but that doesnt mean anything and you give them all the respect.. not ight scott not right

I have no connection to Pasadena Poly. I find it noteworthy that you placed Stanford-bound A.J. Talt on a second team. Poly with Talt beats Maranatha. On March 15 Poly with Talt defeated Maranatha, and the Minutemen could hardly touch him. They chose not to pitch Dylan Covey. He pitched a day earlier against Windward.