DIONICIO DROPS BY
Arrives Unannounced at World Headquarters, Announces 2006 Intentions

West Hartford, CT (AP)--All it took was the turn of a single calendar page. As frigid February passed to the Madness of March (and the soon-to-be official arrival of Spring, the yearly occurrence that means lengthening hours of daylight, red-breasted robins in the yard and West Hartford Cannons Baseball), the Dominican Dandy Leo Dionicio dropped by Cannons World Headquarters late Wednesday evening to officially announce his intentions to play with West Hartford for the 2006 season. Though hotly pursued by the Hartford Mets of the Connecticut North Men's Senior Baseball League's B Division, Dionicio decided like a DR Dorothy that there truly is "no place like home." When asked to comment as a small fan club cheered enthusiastically Dionicio stated, "There's no reason to leave the Cannons. This is my team and this is our time." Manager Matt Celio was stunned for the second time in the past few weeks. "The [Tom] Bogiatzis announcement really threw me for a loop. It was totally unexpected. It's nice to turn the tables on fate a bit and to be surprised with some great news for the franchise. Leo is vastly important to us both on and off the field. I'm glad we ordered that #5 hat!" Dionicio, the recipient of the Cannons Silver Slugger Award in 2005, had twenty hits (including a team-leading three taters) and was tops on the team in RBI (15) and slugging percentage (.667) in his first full season in Cannon Red. He also added another ten hits in the playoffs (good for a share of the club lead with Tom Luby). He was one of only two players to hit over .400 in both the regular- and post-season (Steve Markie was the other), becoming the first Cannon rookie to accomplish the feat. The cosmic tumblers are turning once again in West Hartford's favor. As Dionicio so prophetically pontificated in 2005, "All it takes is one Dominican to win a championship." The Cannons have reached their Caribbean quota: an A Division title can't be far behind.