Mister Baseball

Until last year there were three European Cup tournaments, separated into the European Cup with the national champions, the CEB Cup and the Cup Winners Cup in addition to four Qualifiers. This season they have two European Cups and four Qualifiers. The best four teams from the two EC’s will advance into the final four, which will take place for the first time in Barcelona, Spain. With this format, there will be one “real” European champion. The first EC with mostly national champions began on Tuesday in Grosseto, Italy. The second starts off on Wednesday in Regensburg, Germany.

The eight participants are split into two pools, playing a round robin preliminary round with the top two of each group advancing into the semi-finals. In pool A host BUCHBINDER LEGIONAERE (Germany) competes against DOOR NEPTUNUS (Netherlands), MGPU SYOS 42 (Russia) and the TEMPLIERS SENART (France). In pool B the defending CEB Cup champion FC BARCELONA (Spain) faces DRACI BRNO (Czech Republic), DANESI NETTUNO (Italy) and OLIMPIJA KARLOVAC (Croatia).

NEPTUNUS and NETTUNO are going into the tournament as favorites with BARCELONA not far behind. The LEGIONAERE could be a surprise with home field advantage and a strong and deep pitching staff. Besides the TEMPLIERS are dominating in France, so they are in good form. DRACI, MGPU and KARLOVAC are probably the underdogs, but you’ll know better after the first games are played.

Check out the official website of the tournament and follow the games via live play-by-play on the CEB homepage.

Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg (Germany)

They are the host the German vice champion the past two years. The LEGIONAERE does have perhaps the best farm system in Germany and they strengthened their roster further this winter with acquisitions from the United States. They count on starters Mike Bolsenbroek, Martin Almstetter, Craig Crow and Benedikt Antwi. They have one of the best relievers in Philipp Hoffschild and rely on a powerful offense. Klaus Hopfensperger, Jerin Harper and Dan Husband are their powerful bats, which can decide games with one swing. Last year they played in the Cupwinners Cup in Hoofdorp, Netherlands and lost three out four games. With home field advantage they should be better.

FC Barcelona (Spain)

They are the defending CEB Cup champion, beating the German HEIDENHEIM HEIDEKOEPFE 13-9 in Karlovac, Croatia last season. BARCELONA is currently in third place in the Spanish championship, three games behind leader MARLINS PUERTO CRUZ. With Homer Baez, Andoni Ortiz, Remigio Leal and Jorge Balboa they have four reliable pitchers, who all can go deep into games. In addition they signed national team pitcher Manuel Olivera a month ago to reinforce their team for the European Cup. Offensive wise the team of manager Aldo Tarife is led by Jesus Golindano.

DOOR Neptunus (Netherlands)

They are the second 2007 winner in the field. NEPTUNUS won the Cupwinners Cup last season winning all five games, while outscoring their opponents 48-6. This year they are currently in second place in standings of the Hoofdklasse, a half game behind leader CORENDON KINHEIM. Their ace is Leon Boyd (ERA 1.15, 7-0), who recently threw a no-hitter and is at the top of his game at the moment. Fellow starters Kevin Heijstek (ERA 1.93) and Diegomar Markwell (ERA 2.21) are not far behind. Dushan Ruzic (ERA 0.95) is their number one option out of the bullpen. On the offensive end they have lost Ivanon Coffie weeks ago, but still have powerful bats in the lineup with Eugene Kingsale (.265, 4 HR, 20 Runs), Raily Legito (.315, 20 Runs), Benjamin Dille (.294, 21 Runs) and Derick Francisca (.304).

Danesi Nettuno (Italy)

NETTUNO is the reigning Italian vice champion, losing the finals in seven games to GROSSETO. They are currently in second place of the standings with a 19-8 record, three games behind FORTITUDO BOLOGNA. With starting pitchers Giovanni Carrara (4-1, ERA 2.62) and Nelson Cruz (4-2, ERA 1.15), who both already have pitched in major league games in the past, are the most famous names in the whole tournament. With third starter Carlos Richetti (6-1, ERA 2.20) also in mid season form, their pitching staff is one of the best in Europe. On the offensive side, they made a change a few weeks ago, replacing Frank Menechino with Luis Ugueto (.217). Their leader in this department is Giuseppe Mazzanti, who is batting .402 with 17 runs scored and 16 RBI.

Templiers Senart (France)

They were second in the French championship last season, but are dominating in their home country in 2008. The TEMPLIERS are riding a 16-game winning streak in the Elite league, leading the standings with a 17-1 record, four games ahead of the pack. They also have clinched already a berth for the 2009 European Cup, winning the Challenge De France. However on the European level it is not that easy for them. They have three pitchers, who are primed to have success in Samuel Meurant, Evan Blesoff and Mattieu Brelle-Andrade. After them their pitching staff is pretty thin, which could be a problem with five games in five days. Their only major acquisition this winter was Gaspard Fessy, who came from the FC BARCELONA. Besides him Ernesto Martinez, Lahence Benhamida and Ian Young are the offensive leaders.

AVG Draci Brno (Czech Republic)

DRACI BRNO is the dominating Czech team over the course of many years. They have some problems this season, but still are at the top of the standings in the Extraleague. They played in the European Cup in San Marino last season and finished in seventh place, winning just one of the five matches. They rely on starters Martin Schneider (ERA 1.09) and Radek Prochazka (ERA 0.66), who are thriving in the national championship. As addition for the European Cup they brought in the American Eddie Oropesa, who appeared in 125 major league games. Also on the roster is Americo Peguero, a former minor league pitcher. With Luis and Rodrigo Sandoval in the bullpen they should have a deeper pitching staff, than in recent years. On the offensive end they are led by Pavel Budsky, who is batting .436 with eight homeruns and 28 RBI in 2008. The most known name on the roster is the Australian infielder Ryan Berg.

Olimpija Karlovac (Croatia)

They are the Croatian champion, sweeping the finals against ZAGREB. In last year’s edition of the CEB Cup, they won one of the five games played, finishing in fourth place. On their roster are four foreign pitchers in Jordy Alexander (CAN), Garry Tongue (GB), Carlos Tovar (VEN) and Jeff Calderone (USA). In the offense the Interliga team relies on Evan Miles (USA) and Matteo Calcgani (CAN). Speaking of the Interliga, KARLOVAC has won seven of their ten games against Croatian teams. Unfortunately we do not know more about this league, which consists of teams from Croatia, Slovenia and Slovakia. In comparing their roster to the squads from the other clubs, we have to say that they are definitely the underdogs in the tournament.

MGPU SYOS 42 (Russia)

The last team in the European Cup is MGPU, the current leader in the Russian Baseball League, coming fresh from three victories in four games against the rival and fellow EC participant TORNADO BALASHIKHA. In 2007 they won the Qualifier for the CEB Cup, by winning four of the five games. We do not know much about their roster, but with the rising talent in Russian baseball, we can be sure, they are competitive. Two of their pitchers got pro contracts by the MINNESOTA TWINS organization, Nikolai and Andrey Lobanov (not related). The staff is led by right-hander Viacheslav Vasiliev. We do not know, if the Lobanovs are available in Regensburg, but if yes, this should be a major spark for the team. MGPU probably also have signed foreign players especially for the event, so the other clubs should be warned.