Gearing up for 2009 Campaign
The Bulldogs are a month away from the start of their 2009 Spring season, ready to build upon their Fall Mel Ott title. The offseason has been a busy one for both players and management. Most of the players have been working out, building a strong foundation for the upcoming campaign. You will definitely see a faster, stronger team when April comes around. For management, there were some areas that the club felt it could make stronger, and it has done just that.
Returning from the fall is essentially the entire ballclub. Bret Santucci and Tim Ritchie will continue to split time at first base. Mike Mazzolla, Dave Markow and Eddie Rosado will cover the rest of the infield. Chuck Harvath will fill in at 3rd and OF for the club. Chris Fucci, Jesse Boles and Ayad Shuaib will command a powerful outfield for the dogs, and James O'Hanlon returns this spring to man the dish. On the mound, Chris Innis, Tim Franklin, Eddie Rosado and Milton Rodriguez will power the arms race. O'Hanlon will command the closer role.
Manny Alvarez returns, and will add his ability to play infield and pitch to an already diverse club of players, adding plenty of depth to the teams roster.
BULLDOGS WIN!
Dogs capture first championship in team history
All World? Try Finals MVP... Markow delivers title
Innis and Rodriguez spectacular in victories
Santucci, Shauib, Markow homer happy
Bulldogs would like to thank their 2008 Sponsor, Mario's Fried Chicken. Home of the best damn chicken on the East Coast!
BULLDOGS HEAD TO FINALS, AFTER 11 INNING GEM BY INNIS
The Mel Ott playoffs began Sunday on a cold afternoon with the top seeded Red Sox squaring off against the #4 seed Barons, and the #2 Bulldogs hosting the #3 Twins. The final 2 seeds of the playoffs were determined by forfeits (yet again), and on the last day of regular season, a forfeit by the Barons set up those matchups. In game 1, the Red Sox had home field against the Barons in Bridgewater at noon, and this game did not have the same result as their regular season matchup. The Barons ace, Aaron Kalb, silenced the loud bats of the Red Sox with a complete game win, striking out 12 batters in the game. Matt Eggert fueled the offense with a homerun and 3 rbi, as the Barons provided a huge upset in game one of the day.
In game two, your NJ Bulldogs put ace Chris Innis on the mound in a nightgame at Thompson Park. Innis was on his game early, but the Bulldog bats were not waking up against the Twins starter Nick Sommo. This game was a pitchers duel, with both lasting the duration of this 11 inning affair. The big blast of the game, came from the bat of Twins third baseman Mike Turner, who took an Innis offering to deep left center for a 2 run blast, which put the Twins up 4-3. The Bulldogs would later tie the score with Jesse Boles scoring on a fielders choice by Dave Markow. The score remained knotted at 4’s through the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th… and to the 11th we went. The Twins led off the inning with a ball to Mazzolla, who was unable to make the play. The next batter grounded to Markow, who fed Mazzolla for the lead runner. Innis would then strikeout Ryan Voight. With 2 outs and a runner on second, the Bulldogs walked mike Turner, to bring up FX Brown, who had been 0-5 at that point. Brown hit a knubbler in the infield, and all runners were safe. Bases were jacked for Jeremy Grover, who took the first pitch up the middle for a single. One run scored, and with Turner rounding 3rd headed home, CF Jesse Boles threw a laser to home to nail Turner at the dish. The Bulldogs were down 5-4 headed into the bottom of the 11th. The Twins put Sommo back on the hill for the 11th, and the dogs knew they had to get a rally together. Chris Innis started the inning with a ground out. Mazzolla came up, and drew a full count, laying off a curve in the dirt to draw the walk. Santucci laced a single to center, and the Bulldogs were in business with the bottom of the order set to come up. Ayad Shuaib came up, and with his second hit of the game, loaded the bases for Milton Rodriguez with one out. Rodriguez was noteably the most consistant hitter of the night, hitting the ball hard all night, just not finding any holes. On the first pitch, he hit a drive down the left field line… scoring Mazzolla and Santucci to win the game. This was by far one of the better games any of these players have witnessed, and the teams hung out in the parking lot afterwards just talking about the game and how great it was. An old fashioned pitchers duel, with Twins starter Sommo going 10.1 innings, striking out 6. Chris Innis was the MVP for the Bulldogs, going 11 innings, striking out 14 batters. Bret Santucci and Milton Rodriguez were both the offensive stars of this game.
Also to note. Chris Fucci is back in business with aluminum. He sent a drive to left center in the bottom of the 9th that everybody thought had the distance… but hit the fence for a double.
Bulldogs now need to prepare for the finals against the Barons.
Bulldogs await Semi Finals Matchup
With the Playoffs set to begin, the extended weekend rainouts leave little to be solved for the Bulldogs first round opponent. Who will it be, the Twins or the Barons? The Red Sox walk into playoffs with the #1 seed, and the Bulldogs with the #2 making both the home teams in the semi finals. The Barons and Twins are battling each other this week, with weeknight games slated for Wednesday and Thursday *weather permitting). If both games are played, the Barons need to win only one to lock into the #3 seed and become the Bulldogs opponent. However, if only one game is played due to weather, and the Twins win, they will move into the #3 seeding due to tie breaker rules.
The Bulldogs will wait to see what transpires this final week. They will host the Twins/Barons at 5pm at Thompson Park in Monroe. Thompson Park is a location the Bulldogs had some success at this season offensively, knocking 7 home runs in 14 innings vs the Barons. The offense is locked and loaded, and ready to get hitting. Both Eddie Rosaso and Tim Ritchie will be out game 1 due to suspensions, however the team is ready to stack the deck and play some hardball. Lineup is ready to go...
MEL OTT WEEK 2 RESULTS
Following the massive offensive production in week 1, the Bulldogs came out firing again Sunday evening against the Jersey Twins, the team that eliminated them from the Spring Quarterfinals. The dogs were looking for some revenge, and beat up a depleted Twins team 14-6. Milton Rodriguez pitched 7 strong innings to improve to 2-0, also adding 2 hits and 3 runs to the offense. Mike Mazzolla paced the offense from the leadoff spot with 3 hits, 2 RBI and 3 runs. Dave Markow and Eddie Rosado each had 2 doubles, 3 RBI each, and Jesse Boles & Chuck Harvath both added 2 runs apiece. The Bulldogs were without both Chris Innis, Ayad Shuaib and Chris Fucci for this one, but still managed to remain strong.
In Flemington, the Red Sox shutout the Barons in a mercy ruling, 10-0 after 7 innings. Red Sox ace Erick Holck got the win by striking out 9 Barons, and going the distance, by allowing just 6 hits. John Ronaghan returned to action after taking the spring off, and surrendered 8 runs on 10 hits to the Sox. Allen Lopez had 3 hits for the Sox and 5RBI, and Justin Kiser was 4-5 in the win.
In the third game of the weekend, the Mudcats forfeited to the Essex Bulls.
Next weekend some exciting double header matchups come up. The Bulldogs will host the Essex Bulls at Riverbank Park in Newark, the Mudcats will travel to the home of the Red Sox, and the Barons travel to the “short porch” of the Twins out in Clinton.
BULLDOGS STRONG IN OPENER
The NJ Bulldogs came out strong against a tough Mudcats team to open the fall campaign. In game 1, the Bulldogs put one of the newest additions to the mound for opening day. Chris Innis silenced the Mudcats thru 5 innings, striking out 13 batters. He was impressive in his debut, and the Bulldogs are hoping he can get them over the hump in the playoffs this season. Jesse Boles lead an impressive offense to a 17-0 win, by going 3-3 with a homerun, 3 runs scored and 2 RBI. Chris Fucci, back from a spring leave, went 2-3 with a homer as well. Tim Ritchie and Eddie Rosado added two more dingers in game 1. Newly dubbed leadoff man, Mike Mazzolla went 1-1 in his leadoff debut with a walk, sac fly, single and HBP, scoring twice and had 2 RBI. Bret Santucci feasted with the bases loaded, went 2-3 and had 3 RBI. Chuck Harvath went 1 for 2 in the contest, picking up his 300th career hit. Also, first base coach Chip Mazzolla got his first bulldogs AB and walked.
In game 2, it was the same story… all Bull and no cat. Bulldogs scored 11 runs, again led by Jesse Boles’ 3-4 performance. Boles hit his 2nd homer in as many games, and had 3 RBi in this one. Dave Markow also connected for the dogs. Milton Rodriguez went 4 innings and struck out 7 for the win. Ayad Shuaib, Chris Innis and Jesus Rivera all added 2 hits each to lead the Bulldogs to a 2-0 season start.
The Bulldogs would like to apologize to Mudcats centerfielder Matt Mazon, who got worked up in the 5th inning when Shuaib stole third base up 10-1. We were not trying to show the opposition up, however we had not reached the mercy limit yet and we had Chuck entering the game to pitch and were uncertain how things would pan out. Chris Fucci put it best, “We just wanted to go home.”
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BULLDOG BATS MAKE IT RAIN ON ANDY SAMBERG AND LAST PLACE JACKALS 18-7
Ridgefield, NJ- The Bulldogs took a weeknight drive Wednesday to Ridgefield to face off against the rival Bergen Jackals, who came back to beat the Bulldogs 2 games to 1 in the 2007 Roy Campy AA Fall Championship. This game was a make up from a rain out 3 weeks ago, which should have taken place at Johnson Park in Piscataway. The Jackals were basically a no show at the contest, and I guess you can’t blame them. With 5 games left in their season, they have essentially locked themselves into last place in the league. After a 20 minute delay, they apparently had their nine guys ready for some baseball and the bulldogs were warmed up and ready to get the game started and ended as quickly as possible. The Jackals trotted out a rookie to the mound, a dead ringer for an Andy Samberg look alike.. The Bulldogs scored early, notching 3 runs in the top of the 1st. The Jackals then managed to counter with 2 runs of their own with a few seeing eye singles off Bulldogs starter Manny Alvarez. However, this was a night for the dogs bats… who surged with homeruns from leadoff Chuck Harvath and rookie sensation James OHanlon. Jesse Boles hit a 500 ft screamer down the left field line which looked fair, but was called foul by the umps. Eddie Rosado and Mike Mazzolla added 3 hits each in the contest, as the bulldogs rolled 18-7. Ayad Shuaib made his Bulldogs debut on the mound, striking out 3 of 5 batters faced to finish the game. Samberg got shallacked for 15 earned runs in the contest.
The dogs have become hot lately at the plate, and it appears that their lineup is all healthy now, their pitching is at full tilt, and their defense has worked out their kinks just in time to do some damage. Jesse Boles and Eddie Rosado are hammering the ball to every part of the diamond. Bret Santucci continues to pad his stats towards his MVP campaign. Dave Markow has found his stroke in the last few games, and the emergence of Billy Van Iderstine has added even more power to the potent lineup. On the mound, Tim Franklin has emerged as a Cy Young candidate overnight, while Milton Rodriguez and Eddie Rosado have added consistent quality starts for the team. You can’t ask for better chemistry on a team.
Dogs head into the weekend at a 11-5 clip for the season, with 4 games remaining. Coming off the win Wednesday night in Ridgefield, the team is now hitting and is preparing themselves for the playoffs. This weekend they face a tough Union Knights opponent, and then Sunday face the Big Shots at Waterfront Park. To finish the season, they have a double header with the Essex Bellnuts, who have been very competitive lately and are vying for a playoff spot themselves.
Mathematically, with one win the Bulldogs can clinch a playoff spot. By winning outright, they can lock into the 3 seed.
(So there is no confusion, this site is paid for and maintained by a staff member of the Bulldogs, and is NOT maintained by the coach Tim Ritchie. Articles and write ups are based on opinions which are NOT Tim Ritchie's. Please read the disclaimer before looking at this site)
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Dave "All World" Markow |
The BulldogsThe NJ Bulldogs is a baseball team that currently participates in the Mel Ott aluminum division of the MSMBL in northern NJ. The team is run by Tim Ritchie, who has been at the helm since inception 7 years ago. After a merging of teams in the fall 2007, the Bulldogs have a good balance of offense and defense, and should be a contender this spring for the title. More to come on the team...
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