ASPEN 2008

[Al's Fastball News]

Received: 11/13/07 10:47:21 AM 
From:  Jason <pete23ca(at)yahoo.com> 

   
Subject:  ASPEN 2008  
    

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Aspen Interiors Fastball 2008
After a disappointing 2007 where we failed to improve upon two
consecutive top 5 finishes at ISC's and another year of 
failing to make it to Sunday at Canadians, 2008 will be year
of redemption for our club. As any veteran club will attest to,
the ball "season" tends to start earlier with each year we get
older. As individuals we have made a commitment to be better
prepared for the rigors of the 2008 season. A season which will
see us play a more demanding schedule. Time will tell
how prepared we are. 
With the Canadian championships being held in our own backyard
we looked to improve the club to try and put us in a position
to be playing on Sunday. As in the past, we looked to add character
as well as talent. Our first priority was to add another thrower
that could not only help us compete but more importantly could
compete with our own staff for innings. Rick Smith was someone
we were more than familiar with as he has pretty much had our
number over the last few years. With Smitty we've got a guy with
national team experience who's also been on successful teams
through his years with Victoria and Vancouver. We're excited
to bring a guy on board that is known as a great team guy, a
competitor and most importantly a guy who will compete for the
ball. Our next addition wasn't someone that we targeted because
we just never saw him as being available. Sean O'Brien has been
a mainstay with the national team as well as one of the most
respected players in the game for a decade now. Sean was familiar
with all our throwers and more importantly our throwers loved
the idea of throwing to Sean. There isn't a hitter that we'll
face that Sean isn't familiar with. Although it'll be his first
year with the team we expect Sean to be a leader on this club
for the 08' season. Our 3rd addition is a player who will begin
his second tour with us, Geoff Evely will return for the 08'
season. Socky as he's known by most, will look to solidify our
IF as he will be looked upon to play SS. Socky is young in years
but his knowledge and understanding of the game is that of a
veteran, a tenacious player who will bring that exuberance of
youth back to our club. We're thrilled to have Socky in an Aspen
uniform again. Our final addition was another player that has
killed us over the years, Dale Levy. Red will be looked upon
to captain the OF and bring some needed power to our lineup.
Dale has played his last number of years with the Kitchener/Waterloo
Twins, we feel Dale will be a great fit both on and off the field.
Joining Rick Smith on the pitching staff for 08' will be Dean
Holein and Trevor Ethier. Deano will look to build on a strong
07' season that saw him pitch without injury for the first time
in a few years. Dean is without a doubt one of our leaders and
is fired up about the 08' season and the opportunity to show
that he is still one of the elite in our sport. Rounding out
our staff is Trevor Ethier. Trevor epitomizes the term "mental
toughness", a great team guy who will push to be our ace for
the 08' season. 
With Geoff Evely expected to play ss this will allow Darrell
Joy to return to his natural position of 2nd base. DJ was forced
into playing ss for us last year and ended up having his best
year in an Aspen uniform. DJ will once again hit in the top of
the order and lead by example as he always has. Third base will
have a familiar last name but a new first in 08'. Keith Mackintosh
will make the move to the hot corner this year. If you had to
sum Keith up in one word, consistent would be the word of choice.
A hitter with a plan who works his way on and comes up with clutch
hits. I guess clutch hits must run in the family as Pat Mackintosh
seems to come up with his fair share as well. Patty is back again
and will look to man one of the three OF spots as will as doing
spot duty around the IF. A versatile player who carries a big
stick, Patty lead our team in HR's last year and is pretty much
a lock to hit in the middle of the order from start to finish.

Rounding out our roster will be locals Chad Hanson who will play
1st base and spend some time in the role of DP.
Mike Lawton, a versatile player whose game got better each and
every weekend. Lawty will look to earn a starting spot
in the OF. Jason Hitchings, a steady OF who will also compete
for playing time. Completing our roster is Ryan O'Neill.
2007 was Ryan's first year back playing ball at a competitive
level in a number of years, Ryan battled rust as well as injury
the whole year only to get back to Newfoundland for nationals
and catch fire and get rewarded with a well deserved All-Canadian.
We expect more people to know his name by years end. With the
announcement of this years squad we also wanted to take this
chance to give a thanks to a couple players who won't be with
us in 08'. Both Andy Jackson and Craig Horswell will be spending
their summer with St.Thomas in 2008. AJ did a little bit of everything
for us in 07', gave us some great pitching performances, played
some first base and had some big hits. Horsy caught almost every
game for us and did what he does best, kept everyone loose. Like
most teams, we have had players come and go over the last few
years. Andy and Horsy will be greatly missed. Both were classy,
competitive guys who always put the team first. St. Thomas, our
loss is your gain.
 
We will release a schedule as soon as it's finalized. See you
at the yard!!
 
Jason Kurylyk
 

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