by Riccardo Schiroli
It is not been a very good weekend of baseball in the Italian League. After everybody had believed Summer months had started, the league experienced a couple of rain delays and the first game postponed because of bad weather of the season. Game three of the series between Telemarket Rimini and Montepaschi Grosseto will be very likely played during the weekend of the Final Four of the European Cup for Clubs. Grosseto won’t be managed by Mario Labastidas, who was fired (according to Grosseto’s official website) because of a bad record (Grosseto has an 8-15 losing record so far).
If you guys wonder what Labastidas could have done better with this roster, I wonder the same.
New manager for Grosseto is Paolo Minozzi.
Bad weather was not the worst that happened during the first week end of the second half of the ‘regular season’. In eleven total games 42 errors were made. Too much, for a League that has the goal to be considered the most talented in the Old Continent.
What happened is not clear, but it’s sure that Rimini (as usual pretty smooth defensively) could win two scoring only three runs and getting a mere seven hits.
Bad defense was pretty costly for Fortitudo Bologna. Without their starting shortstop Infante and with slugger Austin struggling with problems in his eyes, Bologna let Cariparma go home with two wins from the “Gianni Falchi” stadium. This is pretty big news, since Parma had won just once in the last 33 games played on that turf. And it is pretty good news for Parma, that stays in fourth place despite T&A San Marino winning three against last team Palfinger Reggio Emilia.
Danesi Nettuno experienced probably the worst game Giovanni Carrara has played in his three-year career in the IBL (7 earned runs on 9 hits in 3.1 innings) but swept De Angelis Godo and is now tied in second place with Bologna.
Next weekend Parma will test Rimini, and Reggio Emilia will travel to Grosseto. The goal for Reggio and Godo is to get Montepaschi involved in the race to avoid relegation. With three teams involved, it would really be uncertain.
{mrb-schedule:2009-06-04|2009-06-06|IT}
{mrb-standing:italy-2009}
Photo: © FIBS