From the Dugout

2008 Northeast All Star Games - Report 2

By Mike Levandowski

In just two short years, the Northeast All Star Games have seen some very impressive results on the draft board and the college signing lists.

There have been 20 players drafted in the first two years: Brett Anderson (Tigers 08), Rob Bono (Astros 07), Jason Esposito (Royals 08), Fernando Frias (Nationals 08), Gary Gillheeney (Braves 07), Matt Harvey (Angels 07), Anthony Hewitt (Phillies 08/1st rounder), Jordan Jankowski (Astros 08), Jason Knapp (Phillies 08), Charlie Law (Phillies 08), Matt Marquis (Red Sox 08), Quinton Miller (Pirates 08), Sean Nolin (Brewers 08), Eric Pfisterer (Reds 08) Philip Pohl (Rays 08), Anthony Ranaudo (Rangers 08), Trevor Reckling (Angels 07), Jean Carlos Rodriguez (Phillies 08), Damian Seguen (Phillies 07), and George Springer (Twins 08).

The list of colleges that past players have committed to is just as impressive. It includes Binghamton, Boston College, Brown, Caldwell, Clemson, Connecticut, Duke, Elon, Fairfield, Fairleigh Dickinson, Florida Southern, Fordham, Franklin Pierce, Furman, Georgetown, High Point, Holy Cross, Iona, Jacksonville, James Madison, Kenyon, Louisiana State, Maine, Manhattan, Maryland-Baltimore County, Miami-OH, Miami Dade CC, Michigan, Minnesota, Mount St Mary's, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio, Oral Roberts, Pensacola JC, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Quinnipiac, Rice, Rutgers, San Jacinto JC, Seton Hall, South Carolina, Southern California, St John's, St Joseph, St Louis, Stanford, Stetson, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Tulane, UNC Greensboro, Vanderbilt, Villanova, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Winthrop, Wofford, and Yale.

Perfect Game Northeast is also proud to announce the coaches for the 2008 Northeast All Star Games. There will be a couple new faces for this year as well as several familiar faces from the past two years.

There are 4 coaches returning that have been involved in the first two years of the event, 2 coaches who will be in their second event  this year, and 2 new coaches for the third year of the All Star Games (formerly Top Prospect Games).

Ray Fagnant and Buzz Bowers will be again managing the New England Squad. Both coaches are scouts for the Boston Red Sox organization. This will be the 3rd year coaching for them and the bring a 1-0-1 record into the games. In 2007, New England defeated New York 8-3, and in 2006 New England played the Northeast 2008 (underclass) team to a 2-2 tie.

Jim Bretz and George Biron also return for the third time, bringing in a 1-1 record, and once again managing the Mid-Atlantic team. Jim is a scout for the San Diego Padres and George is a scout for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In 2008, the Mid Atlantic team defeated the Northeast 2009 (underclass) team 8-6. In 2006, Bretz and Biron managed the New York team, which was defeated 3-1.

Returning for their second year are John Wells, scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Brian Guiliana, scout for the Florida Marlins. They will manage the Northeast 2010 (underclass) team in 2008. In 2007, the ran the Northeast 2009 team, which was defeated 8-6.

Two newcomers for the event will manage the New York team. Dennis Sheehan of the Kansas City Royals and Ed Fastaia from the Milwaukee Brewers. Dennis has been a Northeast Scouting Supervisor since 1998, working for the Florida Marlins, then the Detroit Tigers, and starting in 2007 with the Kansas City Royals covering Virginia to Maine. He has managed professionally in the Northeast League and was a 6 time college coach of the year at Ulster County Community College in Stone Ridge, New York, including a trip to the 1996 Junior College World Series. Dennis signed Major League Pitcher Jeff Fulchino from the University of Connecticut.

Please continue to check back as rosters are updated and more players are invited. All of the information can be found on the event page by clicking this link: www.perfectgame.org\northeast\events\08_08_29_ne_top_games\index.aspx

More reports on the 2008 Northeast All Star Games to follow as players commit to play and other news is announced.

This column represents the thoughts and opinions of the author and are not necessarily those of Perfect Game.