BRINGING SEXY BACK
Cannons Future Could Feature Some Familiar Faces
West Hartford, CT (AP)—The 2007 West Hartford Cannons roster could resemble a family reunion of sorts, potentially including several new players who have made their mark in some significant way on West Hartford Baseball, current Cannons’ careers or in certain cases both as West Hartford looks to build upon its third-place CNMSBL A Division finish in the upcoming season. The team today is in talks with a fantastic foursome of players who rival the famed Marvel Comics menagerie—or the 2002 recruiting class, a group consisting of four clear-cut first-ballot Hall of Famers: Tom Luby, Kevin McGann, Ed Poland and Tom Bogiatzis. Star power is at a premium in West Hartford and Sean McCann, Drew McDowell, Craig Perrier and Sean Sierra could soon become superstars in the ever-expanding Cannons constellation. McCann, a standout out Conard High School in the late 80’s alongside Mike Calabrese, is currently the Chieftains Head Baseball Coach and could provide another powerful arm in an already potent Cannons pitching rotation (where Calabrese is already joined as a starter by Mike Patenaude and the 2006 Patenaude Pitching Award winner Ed Poland). McDowell, who played with a number of current Cannons as a three-season starter at Hall High School between 1987-1989, went on to shine at Stony Brook University where he earned 1993 Conference Pitcher of the Year honors on a team that included roommate and future Minnesota Twins reliever Joe Nathan. Perrier, a Clark University Cougar with Manager Matt Celio in the early 90’s, should bolster a batting order that bashed its way to a .357 postseason average and came within one run of the Championship game (a 5-4 loss to eventual champ Bristol). Sierra, another Chieftain go-to-guy when the only way to have fun was to Wang Chung, played ball with Assistant Manager Mike Weber in the West Hartford town league and was quoted this weekend as saying that he is “very interested in the prospect of playing with the Cannons in 2007.” Weber is quite fond of the quote, “If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse.” A strong 2006 recruiting class, highlighted by this season’s Most Valuable Cannon Jason Maule, made the transition to the A Division a seamless one for West Hartford. Those in the know understand that championships won on the field in August get their start with off-season signings in October. Inking deals with these four players would be a treat for the Cannons while the trick would clearly be on the rest of the CNMSBL.
Saturday evening saw the 2006 season officially come to a close as Assistant Manager Weber hosted JOktoberfest at his Newington abode. This fun-filled end-of-year event was heavily attended by Cannons players, family members and friends and was highlighted by hearty German fare, a hotly-contested sixteen-category Cannons Jeopardy—won by pitcher Patenaude, his first Jeopardy victory with Luby and 2005 champion John Mancini finishing a close second and third respectively—and the hugely popular 2006 Cannons Awards. “A” great time was had by all. We are family, Cannon Nation!
Cannons News and Notes: Maule’s five awards won were a single-season record (Calabrese and Celio each earned three awards after the 2005 campaign) and place him in a second-place tie all-time with Luby and Poland (Celio leads the team with six out of the forty-seven awards presented...Celio and Weber also took home CNMSBL Manager of the Year Awards in '05); Poland became the third pitcher in three seasons to win the Michael K. Patenaude Cannons Pitching Award (Patenaude, 2004; Calabrese, 2005); Mike McGann became a back-to-back winner with his 2005 and 2006 Most Improved Cannon Awards; Luby and Poland have won the Cannons Golden Spikes Award—the annual honor awarded to players who exhibit exceptional athletic ability, commitment to the Cannons and superior sportsmanship on the field of play while representing the Cannons—in each of the two seasons it has been presented…Maule was also a co-recipient this season; Celio won the Michael F. Weber Cannons Service Award and the Cannons Teammate of the Award for the second straight season; Luby has won the Playoff Most Valuable Cannon Award—now named the Tom “Mr. August” Bogiatzis Most Valuable Cannon [Playoffs] Award—in the past two postseasons; 2006 marked the first time that a member of the McGann family has not held at least a share of the Defensive Player of the Year Award (catcher Steve Markie earned the honors this year); Weber won the highly-coveted Jason T. Jackson Cannons Lifetime Achievement Award, joining Andy Borst (2004) and Celio (2005) as past recipients (this is the only Cannons Award to have a three-year time limitation for repeat recipients, leaving the 2007 race wide open); Mrs. Ann Luby won the Cannons Fan of the Year Award, receiving first-place votes on every ballot cast; Troy Barber, Borst, Calabrese, John Giudice, Mark Lynch, Steve Markie and Brian Pinney were the 2006 roster players not in attendance at the End-of-Year Extravaganza.
Cannons Future Could Feature Some Familiar Faces
West Hartford, CT (AP)—The 2007 West Hartford Cannons roster could resemble a family reunion of sorts, potentially including several new players who have made their mark in some significant way on West Hartford Baseball, current Cannons’ careers or in certain cases both as West Hartford looks to build upon its third-place CNMSBL A Division finish in the upcoming season. The team today is in talks with a fantastic foursome of players who rival the famed Marvel Comics menagerie—or the 2002 recruiting class, a group consisting of four clear-cut first-ballot Hall of Famers: Tom Luby, Kevin McGann, Ed Poland and Tom Bogiatzis. Star power is at a premium in West Hartford and Sean McCann, Drew McDowell, Craig Perrier and Sean Sierra could soon become superstars in the ever-expanding Cannons constellation. McCann, a standout out Conard High School in the late 80’s alongside Mike Calabrese, is currently the Chieftains Head Baseball Coach and could provide another powerful arm in an already potent Cannons pitching rotation (where Calabrese is already joined as a starter by Mike Patenaude and the 2006 Patenaude Pitching Award winner Ed Poland). McDowell, who played with a number of current Cannons as a three-season starter at Hall High School between 1987-1989, went on to shine at Stony Brook University where he earned 1993 Conference Pitcher of the Year honors on a team that included roommate and future Minnesota Twins reliever Joe Nathan. Perrier, a Clark University Cougar with Manager Matt Celio in the early 90’s, should bolster a batting order that bashed its way to a .357 postseason average and came within one run of the Championship game (a 5-4 loss to eventual champ Bristol). Sierra, another Chieftain go-to-guy when the only way to have fun was to Wang Chung, played ball with Assistant Manager Mike Weber in the West Hartford town league and was quoted this weekend as saying that he is “very interested in the prospect of playing with the Cannons in 2007.” Weber is quite fond of the quote, “If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse.” A strong 2006 recruiting class, highlighted by this season’s Most Valuable Cannon Jason Maule, made the transition to the A Division a seamless one for West Hartford. Those in the know understand that championships won on the field in August get their start with off-season signings in October. Inking deals with these four players would be a treat for the Cannons while the trick would clearly be on the rest of the CNMSBL.
Saturday evening saw the 2006 season officially come to a close as Assistant Manager Weber hosted JOktoberfest at his Newington abode. This fun-filled end-of-year event was heavily attended by Cannons players, family members and friends and was highlighted by hearty German fare, a hotly-contested sixteen-category Cannons Jeopardy—won by pitcher Patenaude, his first Jeopardy victory with Luby and 2005 champion John Mancini finishing a close second and third respectively—and the hugely popular 2006 Cannons Awards. “A” great time was had by all. We are family, Cannon Nation!
Cannons News and Notes: Maule’s five awards won were a single-season record (Calabrese and Celio each earned three awards after the 2005 campaign) and place him in a second-place tie all-time with Luby and Poland (Celio leads the team with six out of the forty-seven awards presented...Celio and Weber also took home CNMSBL Manager of the Year Awards in '05); Poland became the third pitcher in three seasons to win the Michael K. Patenaude Cannons Pitching Award (Patenaude, 2004; Calabrese, 2005); Mike McGann became a back-to-back winner with his 2005 and 2006 Most Improved Cannon Awards; Luby and Poland have won the Cannons Golden Spikes Award—the annual honor awarded to players who exhibit exceptional athletic ability, commitment to the Cannons and superior sportsmanship on the field of play while representing the Cannons—in each of the two seasons it has been presented…Maule was also a co-recipient this season; Celio won the Michael F. Weber Cannons Service Award and the Cannons Teammate of the Award for the second straight season; Luby has won the Playoff Most Valuable Cannon Award—now named the Tom “Mr. August” Bogiatzis Most Valuable Cannon [Playoffs] Award—in the past two postseasons; 2006 marked the first time that a member of the McGann family has not held at least a share of the Defensive Player of the Year Award (catcher Steve Markie earned the honors this year); Weber won the highly-coveted Jason T. Jackson Cannons Lifetime Achievement Award, joining Andy Borst (2004) and Celio (2005) as past recipients (this is the only Cannons Award to have a three-year time limitation for repeat recipients, leaving the 2007 race wide open); Mrs. Ann Luby won the Cannons Fan of the Year Award, receiving first-place votes on every ballot cast; Troy Barber, Borst, Calabrese, John Giudice, Mark Lynch, Steve Markie and Brian Pinney were the 2006 roster players not in attendance at the End-of-Year Extravaganza.
2006 West Hartford Cannons Regular and Postseason Awards Winners
2006
Cannons Fan of the Year
Mrs. Ann Luby
2006
Mrs. Ann Luby
2006
Cannons Rookie of the Year
Jason Maule
2006
Jason Maule
2006
Most Improved Cannon
Mike McGann
2006
Mike McGann
2006
Cannons Offensive Player of the Year
Jason Maule
2006
Jason Maule
2006
Cannons Defensive Player of the Year
Steve Markie
2006
Steve Markie
2006
Michael K. Patenaude Cannons Pitching Award
Ed Poland
2006
Ed Poland
2006
Cannons Golden Spikes Award
Tom Luby
2006
Tom Luby
2006
Cannons Golden Spikes Award
Jason Maule
2006
Jason Maule
2006
Cannons Golden Spikes Award
Ed Poland
2006
Ed Poland
2006
Michael F. Weber Cannons Service Award
Matt Celio
2006
Matt Celio
2006
Cannons Teammate of the Year
Matt Celio
2006
Matt Celio
2006
Jason T. Jackson Cannons Lifetime Achievement Award
Mike Weber
2006
Mike Weber
2006
Tom “Mr. August” Bogiatzis Most Valuable Cannon (Playoffs)
Tom Luby
2006
Tom Luby
2006
Tom “Mr. August” Bogiatzis Most Valuable Cannon (Playoffs)
Jason Maule
2006
Jason Maule
2006
Most Valuable Cannon
Jason Maule
