LJ Mazzilli

[huskyblue]

the players behind the backstop are charting pitches

 

[huskymedic]

Interesting discussion... I wouldn't completely minimize the impact the relationships that respected high school coaches have w/ Penders/UConn. Guys like Bill Mrowka (Chesire - two guys on current roster), Sal Coppola (Amity - Vin Siena/Jason Esposito - Vandebilt), and others over the years.

 

[mets1090]

the players behind the backstop are charting pitches

I don't doubt they're charting pitches but why would they not use that same film for look at the batters?

 

[huskyblue]

good question. they dont

 

[21Huskies]

i think the major thing we keep forgetting is, this is UCONN baseball. its not LSU, its not South Carolina, its not Texas.

they have good workout/indoorfacilities because of other programs, they have a building that they use for hitting that is pretty outdated and they have the equivalent of a really nice high school field.

the brand 'UConn' sells baseball to these recruits as much as our coaches are selling them and thats no fault of the coaches, its just how baseball recruiting is. i'd say a 1/4 of the kids who sign with UConn do so subconciously because they are local kids and UConn is the biggest name in the northeast sports picture. the school is becoming better and better academically, which also helps. Penders is a local guy with a good rep as a hard working guy with family history. the assistants from what i hear have been working hard, whether its been productive or not i have no idea. but lets not fool ourselves, the kids who are looking into the assistants track record are in the minority.

baseball recruits aren't like football or basketball prima donna's. the number of kids that get into recruiting battles for are pretty low. schools simply don't have the budgets to do the things that revenue generating sports can. because of that the recruits themselves generally don't have the entitled attitude that other sports recruits have. these AAU coaches that you're talking about aren't as influential as you're making it out to be. do they give opinions, of course. do they tell kids schools to be aware of certain places, of course. but in baseball moreso than other sports (because there aren't extra benefits being thrown around) it comes down to where the kid wants to be and where the kids parents want him to be if he comes from a close family. baseball parents love to be able to get to their kids games, its a big part of the recruiting as well.

basically, my point is we're overanalyzing the recruiting. we're the best program in New England, we're going to consistently be in the running for the top New England kids because of that and that alone... we were the best program in New England many times before Blood was near our program. did he do a great job while here, yes. but the guys who want to stay local will come here, then there are the ones we have to battle for that want to go south, we'll get some and we'll lose some... but the # of kids that aren't coming because of Justin Blood isn't nearly as big as you're making it out to be.

 

[UConnHusky2012]

Well it looks like this discussion has pretty much been completely covered... I will say this, there is far more that goes on behind the scenes than anyone here thinks when it comes to recruiting. I was fortunate enough to have my brother get recruited by some very good schools and he committed over the winter. I always have other players from schools like Amity, St. Joe's, Greenwich, ND-WH hanging around my place and I know what is being said because they talk a lot about their experiences. Like I've said it's time to sit back a watch over the next few years and actually the East Cobb tournament just wrapped up so I would be looking for possible news of commits in the near future.
Oh and 21Huskies you are right about the family aspect for some recruits, Vinny Siena was one of them as he is very close with his mom & dad and he wanted them to be able to see him play. On a side note the 2012 class is already on campus taking classes and I'm told they are enjoying the freedom from home and having some fun!!

 

[Yonick]

I wasn't saying that Glavine would leave N'Eastern bc I know for a fact that he wouldn't, as he is going to become the head coach of the program in the very near future. I was just giving an example of the type of assistants UConn should be going after now that they have moved up the baseball ranks. Ball St is a perfect example of what I was talking about as just this week they hired a pitching coach and recruiting coordinator who had been the associate head coach at Dayton for the past 13 seasons! When Blood was hired, that was a great hire at the time for UConn because that is the type of assistant they could get for where the program was at during that time frame. What an assistant in college baseball is looking to do is be at a school for 5-6 years or less and then use their success to jump to a small D1 head coaching position. In that case UConn has a lot to offer when looking for assistants.
Also I can tell you for a fact that even though recruiting is a relationship business, those relationships are not within towns but rather they are with the coaches of AAU programs. An assistant who has been in D1 longer is going to have more connections with AAU programs such as the East Coast Grays, Baseball U, TCB, CT Bombers, Tri State Arsenal, Bayside Yankees and other elite programs, which is where we should be getting kids from. The 2012 class has 5 players from Baseball U and I personally believe that Blood was responsible for most if not all of those players, helped by the fact that Vinny Siena and Daniello committed and had some pull on their teammates. Also as of last summer, the coaches of Baseball U did not have a very high opinion of UConn baseball so when I hear negative talk about our new assistants, it makes me wonder what the AAU coaches out there think.

These AAU coaches are only loyal to what shoe companies are affiliated with several schools.
It's also this way in hoops too. UConn hoops has much influence with the shoe companies. UConn baseball has little influence compared to the southern schools.
We need to keep on winning for a higher profile in order to even the playing field.

 

[huskymedic]

These AAU coaches are only loyal to what shoe companies are affiliated with several schools.
It's also this way in hoops too. UConn hoops has much influence with the shoe companies. UConn baseball has little influence compared to the southern schools.
We need to keep on winning for a higher profile in order to even the playing field.

Shoe companies in baseball?? I think you mean bat/glove companies (Akedema, Louisville, DeMarini, Easton, Worth, yup and even Nike).

 

[Yonick]

Mazilli is playing in the Cape league. I believe for Bourne. He was 3 for 4 with a homer last nite.

 

[huskymedic]

Mazilli is playing in the Cape league. I believe for Bourne. He was 3 for 4 with a homer last nite.

I guess once "draft" issues were resolved the opportunity was there. Played for Wareham last year.

 

[huskyblooz]

Mazilli is playing in the Cape league. I believe for Bourne. He was 3 for 4 with a homer last nite.

He's hitting .302 thru six games.

 

[UConnHusky2012]

So the problem (it's a great problem to have) is how does Mazilli coming back influence how our infield will look in the spring? Obviously Mazilli is going to have 2nd locked down

 

[ucjoet]

So the problem (it's a great problem to have) is how does Mazilli coming back influence how our infield will look in the spring? Obviously Mazilli is going to have 2nd locked down

It would be nice that someone with extensive knowledge of incoming class, take a stab at what they think the starting lineup will be next year.

 

[UConnHusky2012]

It would be nice that someone with extensive knowledge of incoming class, take a stab at what they think the starting lineup will be next year.

Maybe we should start a new topic and go position by position with the returning players and the incoming kids. Do maybe a position or two a week and let everyone weigh in on their thoughts. It would give us something to do while the baseball news is slow this time of the year

 

[ucjoet]

Maybe we should start a new topic and go position by position with the returning players and the incoming kids. Do maybe a position or two a week and let everyone weigh in on their thoughts. It would give us something to do while the baseball news is slow this time of the year

Nice idea. I don't know much about incoming players, but will try to contribute if someone gets it going.

 

[mets1090]

I don't think many people have a real idea of who has a chance at starting as Freshmen until Fall practice starts. I would be pretty confident that Mazzilli, Verdi and Testani will be 3 of the infielders with DeBellis starting behind the plate. Ferriter will obviously be playing CF, Yavarone will most likely be in LF and Paul will most likely be in RF. If Connor David is back he could play 1B I think. It would be nice to have 8 guys coming back that all had major playing time.

With Marzi, Cross, Tabakman, a healthy Ward and a few Freshmen that redshirted plus the incoming guys we should have a very good staff next year. We have stability in the middle of the week with Butler as a Senior and whatever of the previously mentioned guys don't make the weekend cut.

For those that didn't actually get to see the team in person and went mostly off box scores and Gamecasts, Marzi (IMO) has the potential to be an absolute stud next year. He pitched with poise and has better control than any Husky pitcher I've seen in the 3 years I've followed the team, during which time I went to almost every home game and 2 Big East Tournaments. He walks less than 2 per 9 innings and while he didn't have a lot of a Ks this past season, I think he could take a pretty big step forward there in the coming season. He's the Friday pitcher with any combination of Ward/Cross/Tabakman filling in the other 2 spots. If Ward rebounds to his form from his Freshman season, the rest of the conference could be looking up at the Huskies at the end of the season.

Now those are just general thoughts for next year. I do like the idea of doing a position by position thread like BizLaw does on the football side though. I just wish we had a better idea of incoming recruits.

 

[Yonick]

I don't think many people have a real idea of who has a chance at starting as Freshmen until Fall practice starts. I would be pretty confident that Mazzilli, Verdi and Testani will be 3 of the infielders with DeBellis starting behind the plate. Ferriter will obviously be playing CF, Yavarone will most likely be in LF and Paul will most likely be in RF. If Connor David is back he could play 1B I think. It would be nice to have 8 guys coming back that all had major playing time.

With Marzi, Cross, Tabakman, a healthy Ward and a few Freshmen that redshirted plus the incoming guys we should have a very good staff next year. We have stability in the middle of the week with Butler as a Senior and whatever of the previously mentioned guys don't make the weekend cut.
Good post. Someone mentioned DeBellis won't be back. Can someone confirm this?
If so, it's either David, or incoming frosh McDowell, or Melley. One of these guys might be at First.
Mazilli, & Verdi should be the middle infielders. While Testani, who has 9hr''s in his summer league should nail down 3rd, assuming his fielding improves.
Ferriter, Yavaronne & Paul (tearing up the Atlantic collegiate league) should be our outfield.
First & catching are our biggest question marks.








For those that didn't actually get to see the team in person and went mostly off box scores and Gamecasts, Marzi (IMO) has the potential to be an absolute stud next year. He pitched with poise and has better control than any Husky pitcher I've seen in the 3 years I've followed the team, during which time I went to almost every home game and 2 Big East Tournaments. He walks less than 2 per 9 innings and while he didn't have a lot of a Ks this past season, I think he could take a pretty big step forward there in the coming season. He's the Friday pitcher with any combination of Ward/Cross/Tabakman filling in the other 2 spots. If Ward rebounds to his form from his Freshman season, the rest of the conference could be looking up at the Huskies at the end of the season.

Now those are just general thoughts for next year. I do like the idea of doing a position by position thread like BizLaw does on the football side though. I just wish we had a better idea of incoming recruits.

 

[mets1090]

I thought someone mentioned David might transfer. Either way it was definitely one of the Freshmen catchers. Whichever stays will likely start I would think and any of the incoming guys could take 1B. I just wasn't sure if that transfer was confirmed to be happening or not. I remember the post citing "a source" so I doubt it was 100% confirmed even if it was accurate.

 

[dbmill]

I thought someone mentioned David might transfer. Either way it was definitely one of the Freshmen catchers. Whichever stays will likely start I would think and any of the incoming guys could take 1B. I just wasn't sure if that transfer was confirmed to be happening or not. I remember the post citing "a source" so I doubt it was 100% confirmed even if it was accurate.

Alex Debellis is the catcher who is transferring. WHUS sports director Chris Jones reported that through Twitter.

 

[mets1090]

Alex Debellis is the catcher who is transferring. WHUS sports director Chris Jones reported that through Twitter.

Thank you for confirming.

That's tough because I thought he could have been a good 4 year player for the Huskies. Would love to have that stability. Having said that, David looked like a pretty good contact hitter this past year so I don't think it will be too much of an issue, especially if the incoming guys have what it takes.

 

[Yonick]

Thank you for confirming.

That's tough because I thought he could have been a good 4 year player for the Huskies. Would love to have that stability. Having said that, David looked like a pretty good contact hitter this past year so I don't think it will be too much of an issue, especially if the incoming guys have what it takes.

Too bad about DeBellis, he was listed as a pre season member of a Cape league player from UConn. When the season started he was no longer listed.
David is with Mystic of the NE collegiate league. His average is only around .200. That could be because he needs to get used to wooden bats. Yavaronne is on the same team, however, and is batting around .280.
Supposedly, McDowell has the most potential of all the catchers. We'll just have to see how it turns out. Catcher & 1b are big question marks.

 

[Kgun7]

Too bad about DeBellis, he was listed as a pre season member of a Cape league player from UConn. When the season started he was no longer listed.
David is with Mystic of the NE collegiate league. His average is only around .200. That could be because he needs to get used to wooden bats. Yavaronne is on the same team, however, and is batting around .280.
Supposedly, McDowell has the most potential of all the catchers. We'll just have to see how it turns out. Catcher & 1b are big question marks.

When I played legion ball ('86 thru '88) the difference between aluminum and wood was significant. With the introduction of BBCOR, I think the difference is a lot less. A friend of mine who knows bats (actually makes wooden bats for Cape Cod and NECBL teams) says the difference is minimal.

 

[mets1090]

When I played legion ball ('86 thru '88) the difference between aluminum and wood was significant. With the introduction of BBCOR, I think the difference is a lot less. A friend of mine who knows bats (actually makes wooden bats for Cape Cod and NECBL teams) says the difference is minimal.

Good point that I hadn't considered. The new college bats (used the past 2 seasons I think) are a lot less responsive than the old ones so they are much closer to wood bats. I would think that this will make projecting power at the next level a lot easier for scouts.

 

[huskymedic]

Speaking of power... Mazzilli had 3 run bomb last night - Went 4 for 6 with six RBIs and two runs scored. He was a triple shy of the cycle.

 

[mets1090]

L.J. will be one of the best players in the conference next year. UConn will likely have 2 first team all-conference position players and has a shot to get a pitcher on there too. Marzi had a 2.55 ERA as a Sophomore. Very impressive and it was no fluke. He's got good enough stuff and great control to have a repeat season. Get Ward back to where he was as a Freshman and the team will be very dangerous in the traditionally weak Big East.