by Sven Hendrickx
After finishing the 2007 season on second place in the Belgian baseball competition, the Mortsel Stars look forward to the 2008 season .
Manny MONREAL , Tonny VERHAERT and Kevin VAN DE PERRE are the only players not coming back for the 2008 season, so the core of the 2007 team remains the same .
The pitching staff counts on US import Brad KIRSCH to take a lot of the workload . Last year’s import, Manny MONREAL, pitched a total of 132 innings with a 1.84 ERA . Brad has a big baseball resume, as he pitched on both the college level ( Temple , Wilmington) and the independent level (Tarrant County , Toledo , … )
The other US import Ryan DAYLEY will also see action as a pitcher, especially coming out of the bullpen. Brad and Ryan are supposed to share pitching duties in one of the two weekly games. Belgian pitchers will pitch the other game. There are three lead candidates to be the 2nd starter. Bryan BEUTELS ( 2.77 , 39 IP), Yannick SEL ( 5.28 , 75 IP ) and Matthew LATTA ( 2.53 , 32 IP ) will be fighting out this position battle this spring. The winner will be the 2nd starter and the other two remain powerful weapons out of the bullpen. Other relievers include Sim RUTS, Randy GIORGIADIS and Joy DINGENEN.
The catching duties will be shared by Jilles SEL ( .155 , 1 HR , 9 RBI) and newly acquired Ken HOIRELBEKE ( .198 , 0HR , 11 RBI , 11 SB ). They will share playing time, as coach Sven HENDRICKX intends to go with the hot bat. Ryan DAILEY is also in the catching mix as he is capable of playing multiple positions. Junior Thierry GENOT will catch a lot off the bullpens as he has to get used to the level of play.
In the infield three of the four regulars are back this season. First base will be manned by Sven HENDRICKX ( .352 , 4 HR , 28 RBI ). The veteran will also see a lot of time as the teams DH. Back-ups at first include Ryan DAILEY, Bryan BEUTELS ( .211 , 1 HR , 11 RBI ) and young Steve DE SAEDELEER. Johnny PEERENS ( .366 , 5 HR , 39 RBI ) comes back as the team’s third baseman . He’ll hit in the middle of the order. His backups include Ryan DAILEY ( again ) and young Cedric VANDESOMPELE. Last years MVP, Randy GIORGIADIS ( .388 , 1 HR , 15 RBI , 16 SB ) remains at shortstop . Matthew LATTA ( .211 , 0 HR , 11 RBI ) is the leading candidate for the second base job. Back up middle infielders includes Ryan DAILEY, newly acquired Dennis VAN HERCK ( .297, 0 HR, 3 RBI ) and Sebastiaan VANDESOMPELE ( .316 , 0 HR , 2 RBI ) Dennis VAN HERCK the season on the DL as he has re-injured his knee and has to go through surgery. He won’t be back until July.
Anchoring the outfield will be CF Sim RUTS ( .358 , 1 HR , 23 RBI , 9 SB ). In leftfield he will be flanked by Joy DINGENEN ( .265 , 0 HR , 8 RBI ) . In Rightfield Christoph VAN BRAEKEN ( .225 , 0 HR , 13 RBI ) has the early edge. Also in the outfield mix: Ryan DAILEY, Ken HOIRELBEKE, Sebastiaan VANDESOMPELE, Matthew LATTA and Bryan BEUTELS.
The DH-spot often will be manned by Sven HENDRICKX, Johnny PEERENS and Ryan DAILEY.
Coaches Sven HENDRICKX, Rik RUTS and Randy GIORGIADIS are very confident in their team going into the preseason.