Overview:

These two clubs have more in common than one may think. First, both teams started the season with something to prove. For the Red Sox, it was showing the rest of the league that their team was a legitimate contender within their division. The Sox have been on the outside looking in for the past three years. For the Talons, it was more about silencing the critics and showing that their team has the talent to get by the first round of the play-offs. Oshawa has been a play-off team each and every year they have been in OSSBA but have not had any success since the league went to a “best of” series format. Both teams experienced personnel issues this year, but amazingly, each went on to improve upon their winning totals of a year ago.

Players to watch for:

Barrie – veterans P Sheldon Gowen, 2B/SS Bob Charters, Utility Andrew Cook, 1B Christian Ray and OF Sean Abram

Oshawa – veterans 1B Dan Ruston, P/OF Ryan Reid, P Terry Stephenson, 3B Chad Reid and rookie utility player Scott Pollard

The Skinny:

Both teams will rely heavily on their pitching in hopes of making it to the second round. Barrie looks to be short-handed with a potential injury to free agent pick-up A.J. Martin - who may have been unavailable anyway (up coming marriage). Look for staff ace Sheldon Gowen to throw as much as he can. Offensively and overall depth-wise, Barrie should be much stronger with players like Jeff Faulkner and Marty Giles back in the mix. Both players split time with another club this season. Oshawa who had the best record of all OSSBA clubs in the second half (8-1-1) appears to have a huge advantage in pitching depth. In fact, the Talons have three left-handers. However, only time will tell if youngster Mike Arsenault will be with the club as he prepares to head back to school. Another player who might not be around is OF Chad Ricketts (school). Overall depth has to be a concern for the Talons.

X Factor:

Overview:

This series sees a meeting between two teams who have taken drastically different directions to reach the postseason. The Bengals were firmly entrenched in second place until the Mississauga Stars recorded an 8 game win streak to catch them. However, the Bengals were still in contention for a first round by right up until the last week of the season. The Jays struggled to be consistent all season long and did not clinch a playoff spot until the final weekend of the season with a victory against the Burlington Bulls. These two clubs met twice during the regular season, splitting those two meetings.  Both were close games with the Jays winning in extra innings, and the Bengals pulling out a one run victory in the second game.  The expansion Bengals have extensive playoff success in their days prior to OSSBA and have been competitive in this, there first year in the league.  The Jays have an experienced core of players who have been with the team for multiple years but have lacked consistent pitching to aid their potent bats.

Players to watch for:

Bengals – rookies P/3B Frank Pallotta, 2B/OF Cody Ireland, 1B Greg DaCosta, P Adam Lesniewski, and SS Ryan Rattos.

Bloor – P Jeff Lyons, 2B Adam Hand, C Paolo Discipio, SS Phil Messina, and 3B Adam Messina

The Skinny:

This will be a battle of different strengths.  The Bengals are a well-rounded team with a solid pitching staff and a consistent offence while the Jays possess a staff that lacks depth but an offense that can wipe out opposing teams in any given game.  The Bengals will likely start Frank Pallotta, Adam Lesniewski, and Kris Kibsey in this 3 game set, going with their best arms in order to attempt to make this a short series.  They will have to pitch well against the powerful bats of Paolo Discipio, Adam Hand, and the Messina brothers, all of who have very high power potential.

X Factor:

Game One.  If Lyons can pitch the Jays to victory in Game 1, then Bloor will have a very good chance at pulling off an upset.  Their bats have the ability to steal a game for them in either game 2 or 3 of this series, especially with the small dimensions at Q-Park, so it is vital for the Bengals to assert themselves in the first game of this series.  The winner of the first game will likely be the victor.

Overview:

For an unprecedented fourth consecutive season, the Brooklin Dodgers and Durham Chiefs will face-off in a Walker division play-off series. This will however be the first time the two clubs have played each other in a semi final series. All other match-ups have been in the Walker division championship. Heading into this series, the Dodgers hold the overall edge having won two of the past three play-off meetings. Durham finally got past their arch-rivals last summer on route to the club’s first berth into the league championship. Regular season play this year was a split – with each club winning one game apiece. Neither team should be considered heavy favourites over the other. Both clubs know their opponents very well and this series will most likely come down to who commits the fewest errors and can come up with the best pitching performances from their respective staffs.

Players to watch for:

Brooklin – veterans 1B/P Jeff Canning, OF Jason Jarvie and C/P/Utility Brad Hanna, P/OF Sam Grabowski, and sophomore Dan Blea

Durham – veterans 3B/SS Derek Grieve, P/2B Mike Ovsonka, OF/P Mike Robertson, OF Graig Andrew, and rookie Justin Bird

Who’s Hot:

Veterans C/1B Mike Elmhurst (3-4; triple, 2 R, 4 RBI)) and 1B/2B Ed Ganhao (2-3; 1 RBI) were key contributors at the plate. Pitcher Sam Grabowski picked up the win in game # 1 and the save in game # 2 - as the Dodgers made short work of the Pickering Pirates in round 1 sweeping the series 2-0.

As for Durham, the team has been on hiatus for nearly three weeks – earning a first round bye. However, head coach/GM Chris Killoran did make the paper recently. For those who missed the picture (and a good laugh), one Paris Hilton would probably give a “that’s hot” to please visit:  http://www.photosdurhamregion.com/gallery/picture.php?gallery=2&pic=13104&of

The Skinny:

You can throw out all the scouting reports. Both teams know each other extremely well and what to expect in this series. Neither team will give up, evident of the second game in the regular season when Brooklin held on to win a slugfest 14-13 back on August 13. Both teams are capable of bouncing back after a tough loss and if this series does not go three games it will probably shock most involved. Brooklin received a huge boost last weekend when veteran P/1B Mitch Dunn returned to action. In fact, Dunn played shortstop quite admirably filling the huge void left by the departure of Mark Cairns. And should Dunn and Jeff Canning be able to throw in this series, Brooklin should have a slight advantage in overall pitching depth. Also having IF/P Kyle McFarlane and rookie utility player Braden Novak in the fold this series would be a huge boost to the Dodgers’ defence. Overall the club is very solid and is a legitimate threat to advance all the way to the finals. On the other side of the field, Durham will need for their 2005 co-MVP Colin Cockburn to bust out and regain his 2005 form. Cockburn had a fantastic season last summer but has been average to date this year. Durham will also look to get some secondary pitching help from veteran Paul Graham, sophomore Paul Ovsonka and rookies Chris Aarons and Kyle Griffin should regulars Mike Ovsonka or Mike Robertson falter. Offensively, Durham looks to have an edge heading into this series out-scoring Brooklin during the regular season 29-16. But neither club will hold much stock in regular season stats. These are the play-offs and the only thing that matters now is winning two games in this best of three affair.

X-Factor:

Overview:

The defending champs have continued the success they enjoyed in their inaugural season and have built upon it substantially.  The Bulls enter the playoffs having won their first ever Jenkins Division title, their first OSSBA Tournament Championship, and have set a club record for points in a season with 39.  Their pitching staff has been dominant all season long and is the only staff in the OSSBA to allow less than 100 runs on the season, having given up only 97 runs in 26 games.  Their offense can be inconsistent but sees contributions from top to bottom in the batting order.  Defensively, Brad Guy and Bryan Blasko (if healthy) form one of the top middle infields in the OSSBA.  The Bulls have significant “big game” experience, thanks to their deep run in last year’s playoffs, and their appearance in the finals of the last two OSSBA tournaments. 

Players to watch for: sophomores P Jon Leyland, P Eric Conlon, P/1B Cam McKnight, LF Michael Mousseau, and ’06 free agent pick-up 3B Kyle Pitman (coming over from Oshawa).

Outlook:

The Bulls finished with a 10-2 record against the Jenkins Division and have swept each of the 4 teams directly below them. They will be very difficult to beat in a 3 game series as they will send Leyland, McKnight, and Conlon to the hill.  For the Bulls, the old adage of Pitching and Defense winning ballgames holds true, as these facets are the backbone of the team.  The bye week will only serve to strengthen the Bulls’ “arms” giving the pitching staff an additional week’s rest. The Bulls hope to see Bryan Blasko return from injury as they have missed him defensively and have had to shuffle the defense to make up for his absence.

X Factor:

Offensive Production.  The Bulls have a very gifted offense but it is also very inconsistent.  Burlington has seen the offense go through various peaks and valleys during the course of the season and it is imperative that the offense produces come playoff time.  Playoff games tend to be of a much lower scoring variety, so the Bulls will need to show that they can put some runs on the board to support their hardworking pitching staff. Look for increased contributions from the bottom of the order, which has been hitting well in recent weeks.

Overview:

After setting a league record for most wins in the regular season last year with 22, Durham appears to have taken a step backwards in 2006. The club lost four more games this summer than last, was unsuccessful in defending their tournament championship title in Barrie last month  (despite making it back to the finals), and during the last weekend of regular season blew an opportunity to win back-to-back division pennants. The Chiefs started the year off with 6 straight wins, but was merely a .500 team after the all-star break going 5-5 in their last 10 games. And at times the ball club appeared to be coasting off their first half success down the stretch. Despite all the setbacks, Durham is still one of the most dangerous teams offensively in the league. Second only to first place Richmond Hill in runs for, runs against and total overall points in their division, the Chiefs still put together enough wins to successfully secure a first round bye. The club will wait until the second round to see their first action in the play-offs - where the goal will be to get back to the league championship finals for the second straight year and capture the franchise’s first OSSBA Cup.

Players to watch for: veterans 3B/SS Derek Grieve, OF Graig Andrew, OF/P Mike Robertson, P/2B Mike Ovsonka, and rookie SS/2B Justin Bird

Outlook:

Having lost three pitchers, a regular middle infielder and an outfielder that played part-time with the club last year left the team a little thin on depth. Head coach/GM Chris Killoran was able to find some quality replacements, but the team has yet to bat all their regulars in a single game this season. In fact, Durham had 22 players play for them over the course of the regular season and have some injuries that will carry over into the play-offs. C Dan Wilson is still nursing a sprained knee, and P Todd Van Laere hurt his shoulder in the final weekend of the regular season and will be sidelined for the duration of the ’06 campaign. Durham will once again be forced to over-rely on ace pitcher Mike Ovsonka to carry the team and hope that the veteran core will turn it up a notch defensively behind him.

X Factor:

Overview:

The resurgence of the Mississauga Stars continues with their best finish in the last 3 years.  They rolled through the second half of the season, at one point winning 8 straight games and coming within one point of taking over first place.  The Bengals had an up and down freshman season but have always managed to win when they need to.  They swept the Stars in their only meeting of the year and that certainly provides them with a little more swagger in this series.  They are coming off an emotional, come from behind series win last weekend that included an extra inning comeback victory in which they erased an 11-0 deficit after three innings.  The Stars will apparently have the services of Johnny DeWolfe who is travelling back from school in the U.S.A. on the weekends to play in the playoffs. The Stars will need to shake off the rust due to their three week break and will need to get on track quickly against a tough opponent in the Bengals.

Players to watch for:

Stars: Veterans SS/P Johnny DeWolfe, OF Andrew Wood, P Greg Clarence, and rookies OF Alex Perez and P/3B Matt Bellbeck.

Bengals – P/3B Frank Pallotta, 2B/OF Cody Ireland, 1B Greg DaCosta, P Adam Lesniewski, and SS Ryan Rattos.

The Skinny:

As mentioned, the Bengals swept the Stars earlier in the year, so they will have a bit of a mental edge in this series.  The Stars have far more OSSBA playoff experience than the expansion Bengals, having won two OSSBA cups.  However, the Bengals have been together as a team for several years prior to their debut in OSSBA, and that type of experience is valuable as well, as was evident in the Bulls’ playoff run a year ago.  The Stars will need big efforts on the hill from Bellbeck and Clarence while the Bengals will look to their steady leader Frank Pallotta, as well as Kris Kibsey, and Adam Lesniewski.

X Factor:

Overview:

This series is a match-up of teams that have shown glimpses of promise but have been largely inconsistent down the stretch run. However, both rosters are extremely talent laden and could surprise come playoff time. In the only meeting between these teams in the regular season, the Twins swept the doubleheader by scores of 10-4 and 5-3. The Twins looked to be in control of their own destiny coming out of the All-Star Break, but their inability to win games on the road until the final weekend of the season saw them spiral down to as low as fifth place in August.  They turned it around in the final weekend of the season and managed to earn home field advantage in this series.  The Tigers, out of the playoffs for 2 straight years, make their return to the post season having played extremely well for parts of the regular season. However, their inability to sustain that play for extended stretches leaves them as the lower seed in this series.  Make no mistake though, this team can hit, and if the pitching shows up like it can, this will be a very interesting series to say the least.

Players to watch for:

Twins – rookies P Stuart Kingston, P Tom Malyk, LF Jeff Bond, CF Phil Kingston, and SS Ken Woodford.

Tigers – OF Chris Boissonault, 1B Patrick Buscar, OF Jason Ireland, P Marc Pannunzio, and P Scott Jacobs.

The Skinny:

Both teams have shown flashes of brilliance this year. The expansion Twins hold the psychological advantage, having swept the Tigers this year, but will need to win a game on the road to get a stranglehold on this series. The Twins’ possession of home field advantage might just be the edge needed to come out of this series victorious. The Tigers will rely heavily on their offense, led by Buscar and Boissonault, which mashed a total of 21 homeruns on the season. Pannunzio can set the tone for them with a game 1 victory on the mound.

X Factor:

Overview:

This is an interesting series match-up given that the strength and backbone of both teams lies in their pitching.  The Bulls have one of the deepest and most talented staffs in OSSBA while the Twins have 2 up and coming aces in Malyk and Kingston.  Also, the Twins are coming off a full weekend of baseball, having played a 3 game set against the Tigers, while the Bulls have had a 3 week layoff, due to their first round bye and the holiday weekend.  The Bulls are coming off their first OSSBA championship run while the Twins haven’t tasted the playoffs since 2003, which was their last year playing competitive ball as a unit before coming to OSSBA.

Players to watch for:

Bulls – Sophomores P Jon Leyland, P Eric Conlon, P/1B Cam McKnight, OF Mike Mousseau, and 3B Kyle Pitman

Twins – P Stuart Kingston, P Tom Malyk, LF Jeff Bond, CF Phil Kingston, and SS Ken Woodford.

The Skinny:

The teams met early in the year, in Week 3, with the Bulls sweeping the Twins by scores of 3-2 and 2-0.  Both games were decided in the late innings, with the first game going to extra innings.  The Twins are coming off an emotional series in which they dropped game 1 in 17 innings and fought back to take the next two games – and the series – at home.

X Factor:

Overview:

The Stars, looking to make a return to their glory days, were a much-improved team this season finishing in the top 2 for the first time since 2003.  They started the season off strongly, tied with Burlington after 8 games before going into a freefall which had them barely hanging on to home field advantage in the first round before ripping off an 8 game win streak late in the season to vault them back into second.  The offense is the backbone of this team, finishing with the second highest run total (166) in the Jenkins Division.  The Stars boasted an impressive rookie class, which included OSSBA All-Star Matt Bellbeck and Outfielder Alex Perez who played his first full season with the Stars.  This season has also seen the re-emergence of slugger Andrew Wood.  Their revamped offense, along with some consistent, if not spectacular, pitching puts the Stars in a position to re-establish themselves as a dominant club in the OSSBA.

Players to watch for: Veterans SS/P Johnny DeWolfe, OF Andrew Wood, P Greg Clarence, and rookies OF Alex Perez and P/3B Matt Bellbeck.

Outlook:

Unfortunately for the Stars, they will be without the services of cleanup hitter and starting catcher Brad Kozak, as he will be back at school in the States by the time the playoffs start for Mississauga. The vaunted offense is fully capable of offsetting that loss.  The first round bye will help the Stars chances after having played a hectic schedule down the stretch due to rainouts and makeup games. When the offense is firing, the Stars are very difficult to beat as they put runs on the board in bunches.  The stars possess a solid defense and a clear-cut ace in Bellbeck but will need a dominant second starter to emerge for them to threaten in the Jenkins. They possess only a 6-6 record vs. their Jenkins Division opponents.

X Factor:

The Unlikely Hero. With the Stars having lost Kozak, one of their leaders and the cog in the middle of the offense, someone else in the lineup will need to emerge and help offset that loss.  The ability of the Stars’ role players to step up and make an immediate contribution will dictate how deep their playoff run will go. From the leadership perspective, longtime Stars Greg Clarence and Jeff Cornish are the likely candidates.

Overview:

This coming weekend will mark the first time these two teams have played one another in league play-offs. Oshawa advanced to the second round for the first time in four years after putting away the Barrie Red Sox two games to one, last weekend. For their efforts, the Talons square-off with the top team in their division, in the Richmond Hill Phoenix. One may think that Oshawa is at a huge disadvantage, but when the stats are broken down, the Talons actually have had their fair share of success against Richmond Hill. The Phoenix, who clinched their first-ever Walker division pennant, have been off for almost three weeks – having secured a bye in the first round of the play-offs. With the lengthy lay-off added to a Talons ball club on somewhat of a roll since late July, this series has all the makings of being a true grudge match.

Players to watch for:

Oshawa – veterans 1B Dan Ruston, P/OF Ryan Reid, P Terry Stephenson, 3B Chad Reid and rookie utility player Scott Pollard

Richmond Hill - veterans OF/P Cam Stewart, 2B/SS Ellison Bautista-Chan, OF Cal Bessant, P/utility Andrew Samonas, P Brandon Veenstra

Who’s Hot:

For the Talons, 3B/P Chad Reid was selected as the team’s stand-out player in the first round by head coach, Anthony Cole. At the plate, Reid went 5 for 8 with 2 BB, 1 HBP, 3 R, and 2 RBI. He also contributed on the mound throwing two innings - surrendering 1 hit while walking two and striking out three batters.

The Skinny:

Over the past three regular seasons Oshawa and Richmond Hill have played 6 times. And it is the Talons who have the best record - having won three, lost once and tied twice. During the regular season this year, Oshawa took three of four points (win and tie) from the mighty Phoenix. Oshawa will need to rely heavily on tight defense behind pitchers Ryan Reid, Mike Arsenault and Terry Stephenson. At times against Barrie, the Talons defense looked shaky. Against a very powerful Phoenix club, the Talons will have to bring their A+ game each and every inning, if they hope to advance to the Walker division final. As for the Phoenix, they will have to put some runs up on the board quickly to act as an insurance policy for any miscues that may arise from being out of action these past few weeks. They will also need to test the arm of Oshawa's veteran catcher Earl Chamberlain once on base. No lead should be considered safe against the Talons and if there is one thing the Phoenix can do, it is run up the score. From top to bottom, Richmond Hill’s batting order is stacked. They have a great blend of speed, patience and power and when everything is clicking, they are simply hard to beat. Defensively, the Phoenix ball club has an all-star at almost every position. If they play to their ability they should be poised to make another run for their second league championship. But for now, they have a tough task at hand dealing with the Talons and should not look beyond this series.

X Factor:

Temperament: As the play-offs progress it is only natural to expect the players to become more and more intense. And whenever you pit two teams in a best of series, bad blood is sure to carry over into subsequent games. Whichever team can control their temper the most and keep their emotions in check should eventually gain the upper-hand and more importantly, the series.

Overview:

For the first time in the league’s 6-year history, the Pickering Pirates and Brooklin Dodgers will face one another in league play-offs. In a year that saw the league go to a balanced schedule - where each team faced their opposition only twice (via a double header), divisional play didn’t really factor into the regular season standings like in years past. Brooklin won both games but they faced one another in early June - basically only a few weeks into the season. So any mental edge Brooklin may have held over Pickering would be non-existent at this point. Since the time the clubs faced one another both have gone in different directions. Brooklin finished near the top of the Walker Division (East) standings, but the Pirates finished much lower than many would have expected. Nevertheless, the play-offs mean a fresh start for both clubs and this series has all the makings of a great opening round contest.

Players to watch for:

Brooklin – veterans 1B/P Jeff Canning, OF Jason Jarvie and C/P/Utility Brad Hanna, sophomore 2B/SS Dan Blea and P/OF Sam Grabowski

Pickering – veterans OF Romeo Persaud, C Phil Lacombe, 3B/SS Sean Loughlin, P Mike Minarik and sophomore SS/P Jaymin Parmar

The Skinny:

Both teams added several new players between them this past off-season, but Brooklin has been hit hard with injuries and some bad luck. The club may be without the services for OF Sean Blea and P/1B Mitch Dunn to start the series - both are nursing upper body injuries. In addition, Brooklin will be without their all-star shortstop/assistant coach Mark Cairns - who left for school in South Carolina. Cairns, arguably the best shortstop in the league has been  a major offensive weapon for the Dodgers the past three years. Pickering has played better than their record would suggest. However, the biggest knock against the club is that they don’t play a full 7 innings in both games of a double header. The club has the talent to compete in this series but must find a way to do so each and every game of this series if they hope to advance to the second round.

X-Factor:

Overview:

Richmond Hill enjoyed another fine season. Prior to the start of the ’06 campaign the club was shifted back to the Walker division after spending the previous two years in the Jenkins (West) division. The move did not affect the Phoenix negatively at all. In fact, the ball club went on to post their best regular season record since joining OSSBA in inception back in 2001. The Phoenix also led their division in runs for (218) while allowing the fewest (102) in 26 games played. And as if that was not enough, Richmond Hill was atop of the division standings from start to finish – capturing their first Walker division pennant and tied for first overall with Burlington for the league’s best winning percentage (points system). 

Players to watch for: veterans OF/P Cam Stewart, 2B/SS Ellison Bautista-Chan, OF Cal Bessant, P/Utility Andrew Samonas, P Brandon Veenstra

Outlook:

Richmond Hill has been a top team in the league for years. Always a threat, the club won the OSSBA championship in 2004, and has a great nucleus of players. Their outfield is arguably the best in the entire league. They all possess great arms, above average speed and are key cogs in the team’s offense. Their infield is also solid which only helps compliment their deep pitching staff – lead by Brandon Veenstra who emerged as the team ace this summer. This ball club is very solid and appears to be firing on all cylinders. With no significant injuries to report, the Phoenix must be considered heavy favourites to come out of the Walker division heading into post-season play.

X Factor:

Pitching depth. The Phoenix ball club has several players on their roster that can step up and throw when called upon. Regulars such as Veenstra, Samonas and Steve Zimmermann logged the most innings during the regular season, but Craig Bessant, Jason Booth, and Cam Stewart give their club 6 solid arms. At this time of the year it’s not about getting guys innings. It’s about throwing who’s hot, and that’s a nice “problem” to have for head coach Brian Booth.