by Riccardo Schiroli
The Italian Baseball Series will take off on Friday August 29th (9 pm CET) in Nettuno and will continue with game two at the “Steno Borghese” stadium the next day at the same time before moving to the Republic of San Marino. San Marino will host the final series of the Italian League for the second time after T&A gave up the pennant against Bologna in the 2005 Series.
Danesi Nettuno looks like the clear favorite. They have been the best team in the semi final round robin and have different weapons to score runs. They can hit for power (especially Dominican left hander Juan Camilo and last season’s MVP Peppe Mazzanti), they can run the bases hard and they have a solid defense.
Also their three starters (Nelson Cruz, Giovanni Carrara and Carlo Richetti) are premium quality, but a few doubts can arise if we consider their bullpen. Nettuno has many arms to back up their starters, but the quality of these arms is a different story. Left-handers Florian and Pezzullo have had their ups and downs, right hander Costantini has been sitting for one and a half season before his comeback in 2008, veterans Arias Patrone (right-hander) and Masin (lefty) are a question mark.
T&A San Marino is of course a very good hitting team, with power in all spots of their lineup. Nettuno hopes that games won’t have close scores in late innings.
T&A San Marino can rely on the potential weakness of Nettuno’s bullpen and of course on the fact they can count on three import pitchers (lefties Estrada and Looney and hurler Figueroa) to put on the mound for games one and four of the series, a combo that may be difficult to handle for any lineup.
In the other games it may be a different story. San Marino has lost right-hander Pete Nyari because of a silly accident at home that could prove tragic. Nyari, who fell from the balcony of his house, won’t play the series, but should consider himself pretty lucky to be still alive. On a mere sports note, his loss opens a problem for manager Doriano Bindi who doesn’t have a reliever as reliable as Nyari on the staff.
When it’s time to relieve Da Silva, Bindi will most likely go to Pedro Orta; in the game reserved to the pitchers of the Italian school of baseball (ASI) he may use Seth La Fera, who has been working in the bullpen for the last couple of months but hasn’t seen a live hitter yet, as his closer. Lefty Luca Martignoni will probably be the starter of the ASI games.
All of the games of the Italian Baseball Series will be live on Rai Sport Più, that is available via satellite in all of Europe. Game 1 broadcast will start at 10 pm (CET), while game 2 will be telecasted from first pitch.
Schedule Italian Series:
Friday, August 29:
21:00 Danesi Nettuno – T&A San Marino
Saturday, August 30:
21:00 Danesi Nettuno – T&A San Marino
Monday, September 1:
21:00 T&A San Marino – Danesi Nettuno
Tuesday, September 2:
21:00 T&A San Marino – Danesi Nettuno
Wednesday, September 3:
21:00 T&A San Marino – Danesi Nettuno*
Friday, September 5:
21:00 Danesi Nettuno – T&A San Marino*
Saturday, September 6:
21:00 Danesi Nettuno – T&A San Marino*
*if necessary