June 2008 Archives

I really try not to make errors in my stories. But for whatever reason, it happens when I mention Miller coach Jeff Steinberg.

In my Nick Barnett story which ran in today (Wednesday's) paper, I mentioned that the evening with Barnett was started in a conversation that Steinberg had with Rancho Verde coach Bill Duffy during the NFC Championship game in January. Problem was, Duffy's first name is Pete, not Bill. I also mentioned Duffy as Bill in a quotation that I attributed to Steinberg. Everything else in the quote was correct, except for the name Bill.

I apologize for the error. And for anyone who is giving Steinberg some guff for it, the blame goes here.

In catching up with Josh Nunes this afternoon about his verbal commitment to Tennessee, I also got a bit of a rundown on some other Highlander players that are attracting Division I attention.

The top of those is cornerback Osahon Irabor, a three-star recruit according to both Rivals.com and Scout.com. Irabor has received 15 scholarship offers, most recently from San Diego State and Fresno State. He also has a grab-bag of BCS-school offers, most notably Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Nebraska, Northwestern, Oregon, Oregon State and Washington.

"It's been fun so far, but it's a little crazy," Irabor said. "I don't necessarily like spending 3 hours on the phone every night talking to coaches, but it's one of those things that you only go through once in life, so I'm keeping it in perspective."

Irabor expects to go on tours of Arizona and San Diego State and would like to have his list of schools pared down to a top 5 in the next couple of weeks. He also hopes to verbally commit by the time the season starts in late August.

Nunes and Irabor aren't the only Highlanders getting Division I attention. Northwestern has offered RB/S Davion Fleming, and cornerback Taj Johnson received his first offer from Minnesota this week according to Upland coach Tim Salter.

Now that we are in the thick of summer, passing tournaments (or 7-on-7 for those of you more familiar with that term) are cropping up all over the area. Two of the bigger ones in this area will be at Bonita High School Friday and Saturday and at Claremont July 11-12.

Know of any other passing tournaments of interest? Shoot me a comment or send an email to tj.berka@inlandnewspapers.com or sports@inlandnewspapers.com.

Upland High School quarterback Josh Nunes, regarded as one of the top signalcallers in the country, committed to Tennessee Tuesday evening according to Brett Hubbs at VolQuest.com. Nunes, ranked No. 181 in the latest Rivals top 250, committed to the Volunteers despite never having visited the campus. This is what he told Hubbs in the article, which is available to Rivals.com subscribers.

"I have talked to people and I have done a ton of research," Nunes offered. "I know it can't be a bad place and I know I have made the right choice for me. I can't wait to see it. It's just an unbelievable feeling that really I can't describe. But to have a college home is not just a relief, but it's exciting."

Nunes picked Tennessee over roughly 30 other schools which were recruiting him. He narrowed that list Memorial Day weekend to a group of eight that included Arizona State, Florida, Stanford, BYU, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Harvard.

Expect more in Thursday's Daily Bulletin and Sun.

Los Osos quarterback Richard Brehaut continues to reap the rewards of his impressive showings at various college camps. The UCLA commit received another high honor Monday, as he was selected to participate in the 10th annual Elite 11 Quarterback Competition to be held July 21-24, according this article from StudentSportsFootball.com.

Brehaut is one of seven signalcallers that have been selected for the competition, joining Mater Dei quarterback and Rivals.com National No. 1 recruit Matt Barkley (USC commit), A.J. McCarron (Moblie, Ala./Alabama commit), Zach Mettenberger (Watkinsville, Ga., Georgia), Aaron Murray (Tampa, Fla/Georgia), Tom Savage (Springfield, Pa./Rutgers) and Eugene Smith (Miramar, Fla./undecided). Five other QBs will be selected for the competition, with Upland senior Josh Nunes being a player under consideration.

The Elite 11 competition has been attended by current NFL quarterbacks Vince Young, Matt Leinart, Kellen Clemens, Brodie Croyle, Derek Anderson, Kyle Orton, Troy Smith, Trent Edwards, John David Booty, and Andre' Woodson and has had NFL QBs such as Drew Brees, Carson Palmer, Brady Quinn, Ben Roethlisberger, Jay Cutler, Matt Schaub and Aaron Rodgers serve as counselors. The last five quarterbacks to win the Heisman - Palmer, Jason White, Leinart, Smith and Tim Tebow - have either participated or counseled at the event.

With my esteemed colleague Clay Fowler writing last night about the Celtics' Kevin Garnett and his, lets say, "original", form of celebration, I've taken it upon myself to dissect the Lakers going into next year.

But before we do that, I will say a few things. First of all, the Lakers were completely out-toughed and out-played in this series. Game 6 aside, the Celtics didn't put a complete game together in the series, but their tenacity and toughness was something the Lakers couldn't handle. Quite frankly, the Lakers need some grit and some guys willing to get a little dirty. Besides maybe Kobe and Fisher, the Lakers shirked from the challenge in this series and saw the action taken to them constantly. And to be honest, it wouldn't have been much different had Detroit played the Lakers.

Despite still having a year left in his high school football career, Cajon defensive back Marlon Pollard has been a UCLA verbal commit for almost a year. However, there are rumblings that Pollard, a 6-1, 160-pound four-star prospect according to Rivals.com and Scout.com, might be looking around.

One of those speculators is Pete Sampson of IrishIllustrated.com. In a master list of defensive prospects written yesterday, Sampson has this to say about Pollard: "Despite being a commitment to UCLA, Pollard wants to look at Notre Dame. He said he'll visit the Irish this fall. As a rule, commits that take visits elsewhere almost always switch schools in the end."

It's best to take a lot of the individual school websites with a grain of salt, as they write to the fans of that school, but its definitely a story we'll be tracking through the summer and into the fall.

Redlands East Valley pitcher Tyler Chatwood, the Angels' first selection in last week's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, signed a contract with the Angels Friday evening. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
The Chatwood family drove down to Angels Stadium Friday afternoon and signed the contract prior to the Angels' game with the Atlanta Braves - a game where the Chatwoods were set up with front-row seats in the Diamond Club behind home plate.
"I'm really excited right now," Chatwood said. "It's all starting to sink in. I have some butterflies right now, but they are good butterflies."
As of Friday afternoon, Chatwood was unsure of when he would head out to play Rookie League ball, guessing that it would be sometime next week. The Angels have Rookie League affiliates in Tempe, Ariz. and Orem, Utah.

I just got off the phone with Yucaipa junior third baseman/pitcher Matt Davidson, catching him at the airport waiting for a flight to Minnesota, where he'll participate in a Showcase over the next few days. Davidson, who played for the national Under-17 team last summer in Venezuela, will then head to North Carolina to try out for the Under-18 team.

All in all, Davidson will be gone until June 23. Definitely could be the start of a crazy summer for one of the nation's top rising senior players.

Redlands East Valley pitcher Tyler Chatwood, a second-round draft pick by the Angels in last Thursday's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, will sign a contract with the Angels on Friday.

Chatwood wouldn't disclose the terms of the contract, but is extremely excited about the opportunity to play professional baseball.

"It's an amazing feeling," Chatwood said. "I've always wanted to play professional baseball and its a great feeling to get it started."

Chatwood is unsure of when he would leave Redlands to join the Angels' rookie league team, but suggested it could be as early as Saturday.

The newest Rivals250 was released this morning and there was quite a bit of movement among local players, with Arroyo Valley's Michael Philipp and Los Osos' Richard Brehaut shooting up while Cajon defensive back Marlon Pollard and Upland quarterback Troy Nunes fell a bit.

Philipp has steadily climbed the charts thanks to some dominant workouts, moving up 38 spots since the last ranking in March. The 6-foot-4, 305-pounder has been offered by most of the Big Ten and Colorado at this point.

Brehaut, a 6-3, 205-pound quarterback who committed to UCLA last month, moved up 24 places from No. 160 to No. 136. He has also climbed steadily during the process, as he started out ranked in the 200s.

Pollard, a UCLA commit prior to his junior year, fell out of the top 100 to No. 138. He has created waves of late according to Scout.com, suggesting that he's considering taking visits to other schools. Meanwhile Nunes fell to No. 181, a roughly 30-spot drop. Nunes is still getting a ton of attention though, as he has narrowed his list of schools to 8 (Arizona State, BYU, Florida, Harvard, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Stanford and Tennessee).

A local newcomer to the rankings is Diamond Ranch cornerback Brandon Sermons, the younger brother of former USC standout Rodney Sermons. Sermons cracked the list at No. 248 and has offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Colorado State, Oregon, San Diego State, Utah and Washington State.

Almost slipping through the attention of our intrepid staff was the selection of Miller graduate Reyes Dorado, a right-handed pitcher for Arizona State who was selected by the Angels. Of course, we might have missed it because this is the third time that Dorado has been selected.

Dorado was first selected by the Marlins in the 43rd round in 2004 after graduating from Miller and was drafted in the 46th round by the Pirates last year. He didn't sign either year, which was a smart decision considering that he was selected 910 picks earlier this year.

Also, the New York Mets drafted Don Lugo catcher Charlie Hinojosa in the 39th round, while Azusa Pacific LHP Jon Bravo, a Chino HS graduate, was selected in the 23rd round by the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Dorado discovery gives the area 15 picks today and 20 in the two-day draft, which is now in the books - all 50 rounds and 1,504 selections of it. For those of you who care, pick No. 1,504 was right-handed pitcher Kyle Stroup from Grant Community HS (Ill.), who was selected by the Boston Red Sox.

Here is a quick reference list of local guys. I think we got them all, but if we didn't, shoot us a comment.

Kyle Skipworth, C, Riverside Patriot HS - Florida Marlins, first round (6th pick)
Zach Collier, OF, Chino Hills HS - Philadelphia Phillies, compensatory round A (34th pick)
Tyler Chatwood, RHP, Redlands East Valley HS - Angels, second round (74th pick)
Andrew Liebel, RHP, Long Beach State (Damien) - Toronto Blue Jays, third round (95th pick)
Jermaine Curtis, 3B, UCLA (Miller) - St. Louis Cardinals, fifth round
Isaac Galloway, OF, Los Osos HS - Florida Marlins, eighth round
Cody Puckett, SS, Cal State Dominguez Hills (Hesperia) - Cincinnati Reds, eighth round
Danny Pertusati, 2B, Damien HS - Florida Marlins, 13th round
Reyes Dorado, RHP, Arizona State (Miller) - Angels, 14th round
Ryan Babineau, C, UCLA (Etiwanda) - Arizona Diamondbacks, 17th round
Jason Roenicke, RHP, UC Santa Barbara (Chino Hills) - Toronto Blue Jays, 19th round
Jon Bravo, LHP, Azusa Pacific (Chino) - St. Louis Cardinals, 23rd round
Ricky Oropesa, 3B, Etiwanda HS - Boston Red Sox, 24th round
Matt Long, RHP, Cal State San Bernardino - Tampa Bay Rays, 34th round
Jordan Leyland, 1B, San Dimas HS - Tampa Bay Rays, 36th round
Matt Andriese, RHP, Redlands East Valley HS - Texas Rangers, 37th round
Charlie Hinojosa, C, Don Lugo HS - New York Mets, 39th round
Tony McClendon, OF, Damien HS - Houston Astros, 41st round
Patrick Johnson, OF, Colony HS - Kansas City Royals, 44th round
Carl Uhl, OF, UC Riverside (Serrano) - Colorado Rockies, 49th round

UC Riverside centerfielder Carl Uhl, a graduate of Serrano High School, was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 49th round. That gives the area 12 draft picks today and 17 in the draft dating back to yesterday.

When the draft ends (likely in the next half-hour), I'll publish a complete list. And if I've missed anyone, by all means, let me know.

As the draft winds down, here are some other picks of local interest.

Jason Roenicke, RHP, UC Santa Barbara (Chino Hills) - Toronto Blue Jays, 19th round
Matt Long, RHP, Cal State San Bernardino - Tampa Bay Rays, 34th round
Jordan Leyland, 1B, San Dimas HS - Tampa Bay Rays, 36th round
Tony McClendon, CF, Damien HS - Houston Astros, 41st round
Patrick Johnson, OF, Colony HS - Kansas City Royals, 44th round

Etiwanda third baseman Ricky Oropesa finally came off the board in the 24th round earlier today, as he was selected by the Boston Red Sox. The odds of Oropesa joining the world champions is remote, as he has been quoted as saying that he would honor his commitment to USC if he wasn't drafted in the first five rounds. One wonders if his intent to honor his scholarship with the Trojans plummeted his draft stock.

Redlands East Valley pitcher Matt Andriese became the second Wildcat to go in this draft, as the Texas Rangers nabbed him in the 37th round. Andriese, who has signed with UC Riverside, will almost certainly go to UCR rather than sign with the Rangers at this juncture.

Other guys that I missed before that colleague Michelle Gardner pointed out were Cal State Dominguez Hills shortstop Cody Puckett, a Hesperia graduate, and UCLA catcher Ryan Babineau, an Etiwanda graduate. Puckett went to the Cincinnati Reds in the eighth round - the pick after Isaac Galloway - while Babineau was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 17th round.

In a break between blogging about draft picks (back to that in a bit), the CBL has released its all-league team, with Redlands junior pitcher Kimberly Bruins picking up Most Valuable Player honors.

The rest of the team:
Kimberly Endean, Sr., Fontana
Erin Fernandez, Sr., Fontana
Kayla Uphold, Jr., Fontana
Amber Berg, Jr., Miller
Emily Kakuska, Jr., Miller
Jessica Alvarado, Jr., Redlands
Jessica Garcia, So., Redlands
Savannah Garcia, Jr., Redlands
Quincy Meeker, Sr., Redlands
Reylene Coronado, Sr., Redlands East Valley
Amy Nece, So., Redlands East Valley
Meagan Silva, Sr., Redlands East Valley
Danielle Torrez, Jr., Redlands East Valley
Bryanne Evans, Sr., Rialto
Megan Allen, Jr., Yucaipa
Jessica English, Jr., Yucaipa
Shelby Vanderwall, Jr., Yucaipa

Damien second baseman Danny Pertusati became the second played with Spartan ties to go in the MLB Draft a few minutes ago, as he was drafted by the Florida Marlins early in the 13th round. Long Beach State senior pitcher Andrew Liebel, a Damien graduate, was taken by the Toronto Blue Jays in the third round yesterday.

After not being picked in the first six rounds of the MLB First-Year Player Draft yesterday, Los Osos centerfielder Isaac Galloway was selected by the Florida Marlins in the 8th round this morning. Galloway, the 238th pick in the draft, was at one time rated the top prospect in this year's draft class by espn.com, so Florida - who picked Patriot catcher Kyle Skipworth in the first round yesterday - might have gotten a steal.

Six rounds are in the books, with 44 more rounds to go tomorrow in the MLB's First-Year Player Draft. There should be some local activity early, as two guys expected to be long gone today are still around.

Los Osos outfielder Isaac Galloway - at one time rated the top prospect in the 2008 draft by espn.com - still hasn't heard his name called, nor has Etiwanda third baseman Ricky Oropesa - who was expected to be drafted in the first five rounds. Both players have Division I scholarships to fall back on, with Galloway signed at San Diego State and Oropesa at USC.

Also expected to go reasonably quickly is Redlands East Valley pitcher Matt Andriese. Andriese, who formed a potent 1-2 punch with Tyler Chatwood, has signed to play at UC Riverside.

I wasn't surprised by this in the least, but REV's Tyler Chatwood officially nixed any plans to play college baseball at UCLA, where he signed a letter of intent. In talking to him for the preview story which ran today, Chatwood indicated that he would likely sign a pro contract if he was drafted high enough. He reiterated that stance just a little bit ago during a conference call with Angels' head scout Eddie Bane.

Considering his second-round appointment to the Angels, a local team that employs his high school coach, Steve Hernandez, as a scout, Chatwood's response of "Not at all" to the question of whether he'd play for UCLA was expected.

Another interesting tidbit from the conference call was the Angels' plan to make Chatwood, despite his smallish height and a moderated Tommy John surgery two years ago, a pitcher. Bane went as far to say that a Sunday workout at Angels Stadium would "be the last time" Chatwood "would swing a bat in his life." That's somewhat overdramatic, but the point was made pretty clear.

Long Beach State senior pitcher Andrew Liebel, a graduate of Damien High School, saw his named called by the Toronto Blue Jays in the third round with the 95th pick. Liebel, a 6-foot-1, 195-pounder, doesn't have overpowering stuff, but was a consistent eight-inning starter for the Dirtbags according to the scouting report on mlb.com

Liebel, who tranistioned from a relief role to a starting one, was 8-4 with a 2.22 ERA with 97 strikeouts in 117.1 innings pitched. The former Spartan was one of five Long Beach players to be selected in the second and third rounds.

UCLA third baseman Jermaine Curtis, a graduate of Miller High School, joined the MLB Draft party a few minutes ago, as the St. Louis Cardinals took him in the fifth round with the 155th pick of the draft. Curtis, who could be moved to second base by the Cardinals, overcame a slow start to the 2008 season to hit .306 with two home runs and 26 RBI.

Curtis, a standout player with the Rebels, established himself as a high draft-pick with his performance last summer in the Cape Cod League, a summer league in Massachusetts that uses wood bats instead of the aluminum used at the college level. Curtis was an all-star selection in the Cape Cod, setting the stage for his selection by the 2006 World Series champions.

The saga of Kaiser High School graduate Jason Shirley, who was drafted as a defensive tackle by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 5th round of the NFL draft in April, seems to be over for now. According to the Fresno Bee story, which you can click on here, the jury couldn't reach a verdict on a hit-and-run incident where Shirley was also cited for driving under the influence and driving with a blood-alcohol content of .08 or higher.

Shirley apparently has a hearing for a fourth misdemeanor, driving with a suspended license, on the docket for today. He also has a crazy blond mohawk, which you can check out in the link.

The Angels made their first pick of the day, No. 74 late in the second round, a good one, as they selected Redlands East Valley pitcher/shortstop Tyler Chatwood. Chatwood, who has signed with UCLA, batted .523 with one home run and 23 RBI in 94 at-bats while compiling a 9-1 record on the mound with a 0.81 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 51.2 innings pitched.

Chatwood going to the Angels certainly is fitting, as his coach at REV, Steve Hernandez, has been a scout in the Angels' organization for the past 11 years. On another note, if the mlb.com Draft Tracker listing of Chatwood as a right-handed pitcher is any indication, the Angels will use the 5-foot-11, 190-pounder on the mound. I hope to find out more during a teleconference held by the Angels at 5 p.m. today.

Chino Hills centerfielder Zach Collier, one of the biggest upward movers going into this draft, was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies with the 34th pick of the MLB Draft. Collier, a first-round supplemental pick that the Phillies received when Aaron Rowand left as a free agent, batted .450 with seven home runs and 24 RBI in 80 at-bats for the Huskies this season.

A big day for local prep baseball players at the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft started off early, as the Florida Marlins drafted Riverside Patriot catcher Kyle Skipworth with the 6th pick of the first round.

Skipworth, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound backstop, was an offensive machine for the Sunkist League-champion Warriors, batting a mind-boggling .543 with 13 home runs and 47 RBI in 94 at-bats. He also possesses a rocket arm and has shot up MLB draft boards in the past month.

The success of Redlands East Valley senior pitcher/shortstop Tyler Chatwood, and the legions of MLB scouts that followed him for every game, left Redlands East Valley coach Steve Hernandez in a weird spot. Truth is, Hernandez is one of those scouts.

Along with being the coach of the Wildcats, Hernandez has spent the last 11 years scouting for the Angels' organization. With Chatwood expected to go in the first few rounds of Thursday's MLB Draft, Hernandez found himself in an awkward position.

"I didn't want to get involved because I didn't want any conflicts of interest," Hernandez said. "The Angels, just like the other 29 teams, have looked at Tyler and I didn't want to be in a position of forming the organization's views on him."

While Hernandez did write one report on Chatwood, the majority of the scouting by the Angels has been done by Tim Corcoran.

This situation isn't foreign to Hernandez, who dealt with similar situations at REV with Josh Coles in 2002 and Brett Martinez in 2003. But the interest in Coles, a seventh-round pick, and Martinez, a 21st-round selection, wasn't nearly as strong as it has been with Chatwood.

"We had 10-20 scouts at every game watching him," Hernandez said. "It reminds me of when I had Greg Colbrunn, Chris Stevens and Chuckie Carr at Fontana. He deserves all the attention though - he's a special player."

Chatwood is expected to go anywhere between the late-first and fifth rounds, according to Hernandez.