Baseball Preview: Behind Mathews and Omana, expectations for No. 1 Diamond Bar are huge

8 - the paper printed that;; that info because coaches cooperated. now coaches like Bonita and Northview are so secretive they don;t want anyone to know their roster - much less their stats. LA Times used to have a full page of stat leaders that is there no longer either.At least Fred does provide a link every so often to MaxPreps that has all the SGV teams in one place

Old timer, I totally agree with you regarding the coverage of H.S. baseball. The kids and their parents would really enjoy reading all of the categories that you stated in your blog. It's a shame that they can make room for the sex ads (of course it's all about the money), but not more room for h.s. baseball. I'm sure that the parents of the 10-12 year old age groups don't appreciate these ads. Freddy, outside of your poor coverage, maybe this is another reason for the declining subscriptions. Freddy, I know this is the internet era, BUT PEOPLE ACTUALLY STILL DO READ THE NEWSPAPER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And Freddy, DON'T use Max Preps as the excuse for your LAZINESS!!!! A top ten in these categories, IN PRINT, every once in a while, WOULD BE NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!
I remember reading a few years ago on your blog, that some coach used to line his birdcage with your sports section.

MAYBE I'LL GET A BIRD CAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Baseball is finally here!!!

Fred, very thoughtful and detailed response. THanks for explaining to all. I know the blog can get frustrating and full of jack asses, but more thoughtful responses like this one goes along way.

Hey Old Timer, I know a place where you can buy any newspaper you want!!! They don't have anyone standing by the display making you buy the Tribune (like they obviously do where you buy the newspaper). Stop crying and go change your "Pamper" old man or better yet...buy a different newspaper so you don't have to get all worked up over it on the Blog!

any one that says DB is only Mathews and Omana, Munoz is going to play at UC Irvine, a top program in the country. with three players going to three of the top programs in the country, it should be a great season

Old Timer, really quick to your point, Spoon and Hunt worked during an era when our industry thrived, when we had 10-12 sports pages and a staff that included 10-12, not to mention a huge staff on the desk to roundup scores, etc, and you're right, they did a tremendous job, I know, I worked with them. So did Steve Ramirez, Joe Haakenson, Frank Welch, Greg Christiansen, Jim Barrero, Art Wilson, Robert Morales and many others. Today we have blogs, videos, and updating the internet 24-7. Believe me, back in the day they weren't here at 7:30 in the morning updating live blogs, then covering games at night. It's a different era. It may seem like less to you in the paper, but there is actually more work considering we have to balance what we do in the paper with online, blogs and videos. I would love to go back to the time when all you did was write for the newspaper, we could get so much more done. But those days are gone. Back then the Tribune also had its own owner, it wasn't part of a large newspaper group that shares stories. It was a much better time, the newspaper was your only source for local sports, and you had to wait for the paper to arrive the following day to read what happened. We had late deadlines, almost 1 in the morning and had plenty of time to track down coaches and write late game stories. Today our deadline is around 10:30 p.m. You don't think it pains us to watch where our industry is headed? I loved that era just as much as you, our advertising was through the roof and almost everyone got a Trib in their driveway. You can complain all you want about the Tribune, but like I have mentioned to others, this isn't a Tribune problem, it's an industry-wide problem. All newspapers are struggling. All I can do is compare the Tribune to other community papers and think we do well, particularly updating on the blogs and getting information to our readers. And we're not just Amat, we cover everyone, guess you forgot all the Sierra League baseball coverage of Glendora, Diamond Bar and Damien we gave last year, by far the most covered league. You have to come to grips with that fact that in 2011 we have about 6-7 pages for sports, and a staff that is just Steve Ramirez, Aram and I, with a small crew at night and a small budget for correspondents. As far as standings, schedules, leaders, etc, they're available on Maxpreps, you can find it as long as coaches update it. In the old day old timer teams would fax stats, standings and all that to us, today nobody does because they put it all online. I wish there was a better way to explain it, but next week is a good example of how our coverage will suffer more because I have to take a mandatory week vacation like everyone else. It sucks, but this is our/my situation and we do the best we can.

lorenger, after you lose today. Please give it up and even if your players some how win. Give it up anyways. you are not deserving!

This is for 8

You are so right one with the baseball coverage that the Tribune tries to pass off as coverage these days. The SGV will be a Baseball Valley and will always continue to be a Baseball Valley, its to bad our Tribune Sports Editors have no clue about the talent in this Valley. For all these youngsters here that have no clue on how the Tribune used to cover Baseball I would GLADLY post up old clippings of the TRIBUNE's coverage of baseball back in the day. The Tribune used to give one day to each league and get in depth coverage of each team and what to expect from that league and team. Now we are lucky to get a half page coverage for the whole Valley. Its a shame.

Fred you should really get out and cover more then just the same 3 to 5 schools you cover every fricken day!!! Back when Spoon was Editor and even Steve was in charge etc, things were so much better in coverage. Here is an example of what was covered every week

Top 50 in Batting avg
Top HR's
Top Hits
Top Doubles
Top Triples
Wins
K's
Shut outs
League Standings

What the Hell is going on over there now. You never talk about anyone else but Amat and how they are gonna get a outfield fence! Who cares man. The SGV is so much more then that. And since when did Chino Hills and Diamond Ranch and schools like that become part of the Tribune and there coverage, when the Bulletin is all over them as there own.

Sometimes I just get disgusted w the coverage and I have been here for over 25 yrs and seen everything this Valley has to offer and its a shame you cant see that. It kills me to see the other schools and there kids get ignored year in and year out, especially during baseball season. I would gladly post up coverage from the late 80's and 90's to show everyone here how much the paper has changed and became lap dogs to basically 3 or 4 schools. I hate to get mad like this but it sucks when the Tribune has gone the cheap side during baseball and there coverage sucks to honest, but during Football season you give page after page after page.

Old Timer

So the little Green fruitcakes think they can beat us tomorrow night. I would be really surprised if the game is close. Gods train will roll over Bonita from inning one. We will coast to an easy win on the season opener. There’s only room for one champion in La Verne. Spartans will choke the life out of the Kittens.

Where's KH? Maybe hiding after the hitting display on Saturday against us!

There only how many outs in a game?

I hear no mention about wallace gonzalez .is he playing baseball this year.

Because baseball and soccer are BOOOOORRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIING! Someone wake me up when August rolls around...

BaseballDad, are you crazy? It’s a one-way race! Fred, I didn’t see West Covina at the # 1 spot, what up? Allen B, are you that guy livin under the rock on that Geico commercial? Including our girl wrestlers, who are stone cold beautiful! Put us at what, FIVE CIF championships now? So I know your not talking about us at Bulldogville! your Quote “It is real funny that all of the negitive post on here are from people that support teams that did not do as well as Bonita did this year” must be directed at that loser, “JFR” or some of that South Hills gang. Yes JFR, I hope to see ya at the ol’e ballpark, I’ll save ya a seat right next to me so you can hear the magic come directly from my lips, you still have to kneel down and kiss the ring first. Oh, please bring a shine cloth for the CIF ring, have to keep it clean, out of courtesy for the next person.

Allan, Amat73/69 and Aaron, Bulldogs always win with class and humility, that’s why guys like JFR want to come and be with us.

Amat setenta y tres, actually, I found myself pulling for Bonita. You may now, kiss the ring!

Go Bullfrogs….

Demo - I would venture to say that AMAT will be shooting out a few more D-1 Athletes to add to the SGV's numbers in the years to come. There has been a lull in terms of D-1 signee's at Amat but they still manage to compete with the Best of them. Please notice that I said Amat will "add to the SGV's totals" not trying to start a pee-pee contest here with a who gets more D-1 signee's etc, etc...Wow, all it took was the start of Baseball season and the Blogs are starting to fire up! And I disagree about Amat not being a D1 school "demographically". What exactly does that mean? Please enlighten me as to the demographic formula for a D1 school.

Amat 73 - I guess the point being is BA's demographics or student population doesn't mirror the typical "D1" school, but more like a D3-4 school. It is hard work, desire, talent and great coaching that gets it done

Last year we had a couple of the local teams that were not on the radar screen that did very well.

How is Sierra Vista this year Fred ?

Didn't they have a good pitcher last year that was lights out ?

Just asking......

demographics,
It's a well guarded secret that ony LANCERS are privy to .Here's a hint for you, the 29% of the studentbody population you left out has a great deal to do with it .

Just Observing.....ssshhhhhhhhhhhhhh :)

You sound pretty excited for this years team, so am I. Let it be a motivater to not be recognized any higher. We need to show what we have on the field one game at a time.

Can't wait for the annual San Dimas vs Bonita game. A little Bearcat Birdy told me McCreery's arm is hurting lately. :(

I don't agree with Fred and the Diamond Bar pick..Yes KennyM and HenryO are outstanding pitchers but they still have to put runs on the board and they still have to play defense. They are weak up the middle and behind the plate. And Shibley often is out coached..Nothing against him..just saw that often last year.
I also think you are missing the boat on Los Altos. They can hit and they have the pitching to compete. I think it's a 3-way race in the Hacienda with DB, Los Altos and Bonita.
I think Amat will do well too. They do have some arms that will surprise people and their batting order is undeniably powerful.
I do think that the Tribune does well in it's coverage of baseball. These boards are never as lively as when it's bsseball season.

Don,

San Dimas will surprise you with there pitching, 3 guys that can bring it pretty well. They beat Mission Viejo and Granite Hills in SDSU tourney. Just wait and see, this will be a team competing at the end for CIF Championship, you heard it hear first....

what is it about Bishop Amat's 1385 tuition paying students that are 68% hispanic and 3% black and 89% catholic that screams -"D1"?

8 - is Bishop Amat a D1 school playing D4 - or are they really a D4 school playing D1 Football? I think the latter?

Your right i can't coach baseball but my field looks great!

To 8:

Welcome to our world

And some clarification, I did pick Diamond Bar No. 1, but Stevie R selected the rest (with help from me) and wrote the baseball preview. I am working on the softball preview for tomorrow. And yes, Steve did work the phones calling coaches for info. He had a much larger story written, but the desk asked him to shorten it considerably with so much other CIF stuff going on.

What are you talking about, we probably cover more games than most community newspapers, especially baseball and softball. If you want newspaper coverage like the 70s and 80s, then come work in our subscription department. Everyone wants coverage like it use to be, but most of you out there aren't subscribing to the paper like the good ole' days you speak of, which is why we have three full time reporters at the Trib instead of the 10-12 we had back then. I know our paper is smaller and there is less to read, but I still say it's the best bargain there is. Where else can you get a 50 cent product delivered to your driveway seven days a week?

I agree. Fred should get input from the coaches instead of looking at stats on Maxpreps and relying on what he saw last year. Teams are totally different a year later.

FRED, CONTACT COACHES TO GET LEGIT INFORMATION!

To all High School Baseball Fans:
After reading the High School Baseball Preview this morning, don't expect any improvements in the coverage AGAIN this year. What a WEAK preview of the top 10 teams. Looked like there was no input by half the teams coaches, except the legendary Nieto from Amat (Ha) and a few others. Bishop Amat a Div I school playing in Div IV. What a joke CIF. That topic for another day.
Back to the coverage of baseball. If I'm not mistaken, the top 10 football teams were in a nice little magazine insert with color pictures and good articles. Baseball had a couple of short paragraphs. But get use to it fans, cause unlike football, there won't be any articles on the games, except maybe one feature article. There won't be any weekly standings or a weekly schedule. No more top hitters or pitchers like a L O N G time ago. But hey, there will be the box score. "WOW" players, parents and fans, don't get to excited. HA. To the parents, don't go and buy a new pair of scissors to cut out your sons schools articles, so he can read them when hes an old man and relive the best time of his life in sports. So to all the college and pro scouts in the area that used to buy the Tribune to see what players and teams to follow, I believe its going to be a waste of 50 cents AGAIN. That's to bad, cause there's alot of talent out there this year.

Wow, did I really just read that Diamond Bar is number #1 ranked team (agreed when the #1 is pitching). That will last as long as their starting pitching does and if the defense can hold up. Which is about one week since they are not going to burn up those guys until league starts. And I will side with FredJ, Kmath over Amat, just like Kmath over Plutko last year. For those that want to see the best pitcher, not thrower, go see DBar play with Kmath on the hill. There will not be a kid like him come along in many years. All the best for him and Diamond Bar.

My rankings assuming Bonita #1 starter is good to go......

1. Bonita, to many impact returners, best coaching staff, best athletes, clutch players
2. Damien, solid and deep at pitching, top coaching staff, players are coming now from everywhere.
3. South Hills, Deep, deep, deep, know how to win, but pitching is key, we will see.
4. Amat, cause they are Amat, and do have top D1 players, Ruiz and Anderson, and probably the biggest reason they might be the #1 is they have played smallball forever and that is now key with the BBCOR bats.
5. Diamond Bar, the best #1 pitcher, and a hard throwing #2, but what else???????
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx the rest.........
6. Northview, San Dimas, Charter Oak, pick em cause they are all well coached, and know how to compete.
7.Glendora, Nogales, Claremont, Los Altos

How about the list of top talent but underachieving teams.......

Fred,

Your #1 pick is spot on and I'm not a Dbar honk, but with their 1 and 2 guys coming back it is almost a can't miss. The rest of the rankings are outta whack though, but I'm not gonna split hairs right now. The only polls that matter are the ones at the end of the year. I would agree with you about your argument about Baseball America or PG, you have seen more valley ball than them all. The one thing I will say is Amat & SH are way overrated. Rio is the real deal, but he can't play all positions and CJ is a stud but can only hit 3-4 times a game. The name of the game is pitching and Amat and SH are very short in that department. The NV/Bonita Tourney will clear the air on some of these overrated teams. PLAY BALL!

lorenger needs to be let go. He is not a varisty coach. Its unfair for those kids. Tell him he can keep all his toys but thats enough of trying to COACH!

In reality who cares where AMAT is rank in the Trib. Still have gotten a answer on what the criteria is for these rankings. It is just one man's opinion so take it for what it is .No need to harp on why a team is ranked because there are at least 3-4 other teams here that could put up a valid argument for being number one. Hey kh what you got to say about Fred ranking Bonita at #4 . I am sure that doesn't sit to well with you. By the way it sure was nice of those baseball publications to throw AMAT a bone as Fred put it.

Tribune pre-season top ten (Steve's ranking, not mine)

Diamond Bar - Will get as far as their pitching will carry them

Bishop Amat - Will get as far as their hitting will carry them

South Hills - Good middle of the order hitters, but will that be enough in the Sierra?

Bonita - Same question as 2010, replacing 3 or 4 all league studs; Puddin', Mier, and Huth will roll.

Damien - Did anyone lose as much talent to graduation as the Spartans?

Glendora - Oh yeah, the Tartans. They have more talent to replace than anyone.

Northview - Looks like Murph is gonna have to go with what he brought

San Dimas - Other than no pitching, soft defense and unproven hitters, they're fine.

Charter Oak - More talent coming up from Frosh-Sophs than the past couple years; Quinner will be OK

Nogales - Will benefit greatly from moving to the VV and away from South Hills

Here is one Steve didn't pick but I do: Los Altos - Returns about 70% of both their pitching and offense from a team that was made up mostly of 10th Graders in 2010. Mature a bit, play a little better defense and limit the K's, all things expected of kids a year older, the Conq's ought to be right at the top of the pack in the Hacienda

Let's hope you get this out of your system before you screw up tomorrow's preseason poll.

Oh, I see you have South Hills ranked #3. How much did Smith give you to be that generous?

Who watched more games in the Valley last year, me or someone from an office at the Sporting News or Baseball America who threw a bone to one of our local teams? I say me.

Why does or would "ANYBODY" outside of AMAT care about how many Baseball teams Bishop Amat has???? Isn't it better to be playing ball in real life than playing Baseball on X-Box? The Frosh/Soph team is in a very tough League that has many teams from the Trinity League. Not to bad for an add-on team? Good Job Matt et al....Go Lancers!
P.S.
I wouldn't mid chewing off a little Diamond Bar action this year. Maybe too late but there is always next year.

Who cares about these rankings? This is just Fred using his power. Ranking teams in the SGV is just a powertrip for him. Sporting News>Fred Robledo. What Fred is saying is the Basbell America has it totally wrong. Baseball America has Bishop Amat at #19 in the country. COUNTRY! How are they #2 in the San Gabriel Valley?! I honestly don't know what he looks at in his rankings anymore. I truly feel like I could do a better job than Fred. This is a message to everyone: Keep this rankings handy because we will need to look back on them once June rolls around.

Baseball Blogs are heating up.

5 teams just gives that many more kids an opportunity to participate and compete. You'd rather cut kids and send them to hangin' out at the parked or parked in front of computer. I say the mpre the merrier

chicken (or should it be SHHHHHH-KEN!!),

You have truly taken a HUGE gulp of the Nieto Koooooo-Aid!!!

Taking it to a trash-talking level.....

Fred was simply stating on ONE DAY, his money would be on DB.

Word also has it that Nieto also has FIVE teams in the program??? HUH???

All that equals ==== $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Then you would lose that bet Fred. In 2007 and 2008 Amat beat MLB draft picks Eddie McKiernan and Gabe Encinas. Just like Jordan Fox owned those two, Rio Ruiz would get the better of Mathews.

If there were a playoff game today between Amat and Diamond Bar with Mathews pitching, I'm taking Diamond Bar.

Bishop Amat is clearly the #1 team in the SGV. They are the only locally ranked team in Sporting News, Baseball America, and Perfect Game.