GAME ON!
Fifth Winter Meeting Fades; Connecticut Cannons Focus Turns to Torr-Winchester Rifles

Avon, CT (AP)—On Wednesday evening, Connecticut Cannons management met with members of the CNMSBL executive committee and other A Division representatives, made final financial contributions, and submitted the much-anticipated and much-improved 2009 roster in its final form. It’s April and Opening Day is no longer a distant dream but a quickly approaching actuality. At nearly a month old, spring is in full swing and soon enough the latest Connecticut Cannons campaign will be as well as the team looks to make its ninth season its most memorable since joining the league in 2001.

“We definitely made a move this off-season,” Manager Matt Celio stated to a room full of reporters at Cannons World Headquarters on Thursday morning (Monday’s impromptu practice, attended by five roster invitees, did nothing to alter that overriding opinion; additional practices are scheduled for each of the next three days: today and tomorrow at 5:30 and Saturday at 10:00 at Conard High School in West Hartford). “There’s a sense of satisfaction in knowing we did what was necessary this off-season to bring a Cannons championship to Newington in ’09 (Connecticut traded Mark Lynch to the cross town rival Newington Capitals for P Drew Clarke—according to Manager Dave Sacco, the Capitals once again failed to fill their roster with any arms—and released John Mancini and Jack Vanasse…additionally the team hit the jackpot in the free agent market, adding four truly talented ball players: Juan Checo, Rob DePalma, Josh Svoboda, and Jim Yanosy). We brought back the best fifteen players from a team that was one strike away from the finals, addressed needs, and got guys under contract for the long haul. We’re the favorites to win the A Division crown this season but these moves have also solidified our standing as a title threat for years to come. It’s definitely an exciting time to be a part of Cannon Nation.”

The 2009 Step Up to the Plate Charity Baseball Marathon was on Wednesday evening’s docket. On Memorial Day Weekend 2009 (Friday, May 22 to Saturday, May 23), players from all twenty-two teams in the CNMSBL’s A and B Divisions will take part in the league’s third annual 24-hour Baseball Marathon at the fabulous facility at Riverfront Park in Glastonbury, CT. Several Cannons have expressed interest in striking out Cystic Fibrosis, Juvenile Diabetes and Prostate Cancer and hopefully even more Cannons will follow suit as the game approaches (visit the event’s website at stepupct.org). “The Connecticut Cannons are once again ‘Stepping Up to the Plate’ for charity and I hope our faithful fans—the greatest fans in the CNMSBL or anywhere else for that matter—will do the same in support of these deserving causes,” said Celio in a prepared statement. “We hope to see many family members and friends at Riverfront Park for this fun-filled baseball marathon. Please give generously Cannon Nation…hit another homer for charity.”

In just three days, the Connecticut Cannons will once again take the diamond to start another CNMSBL season. Expectations are at an all-time high as the team puts a vastly improved product on the field in 2009, searching for its first A Division title and the coveted Andrew Clarke/Michael Clinton Trophy. The ‘09 season is here…PLAY BALL!

Cannons News and Notes: Assistant Manager Weber said of the Capitals newest free agent acquisition, Lynch: “I hope Mark has an all-star caliber season for the Caps…except when he plays the Cannons. Getting Clarke and picking up DePalma [a catcher with collegiate experience] for the same dollars due to Lynchie means we got the best end of the deal.”; the April 26 double header against the Hartford Nationals will be played at Conard instead of the University of Hartford…the Cannons expect to unveil their new navy jerseys in Week Two in West Hartford, the team’s hometown for three-plus seasons (including the 2005 B Division championship…management announced the club would wear gray pants with the old red tops against the Rifles this weekend)…the site of the post-game gathering has not been determined but among the possibilities are several classic Cannons local haunts: The Elbow Room, Plan B, The Spigot, or West Wings; Tom Luby returns to the team this week after a year off recovering from back surgery…Lubes and Leo Dionicio stopped by Cannons World Headquarters to drop off paperwork on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively (Andy Borst did so on Saturday); Vanasse officially announced he was stepping away from the team on Wednesday after exploring the possibility of returning in the role of closer: “I tried waiting as long as I could before telling you about having trouble paying in the hopes we would miraculously win the lottery…but that obviously didn’t happen. With the possibility of playing this summer dwindling by the day, I hope things will turn around for next summer and instead I am focusing on the Charity Baseball Marathon, which I hope I can still play in. At any rate, this is not a farewell letter by any means: given the expense and travel every weekend last season, I would NOT have played in the league if I wasn’t on the Cannons. [Celio] really knows how to get the team up and running and to keep the energy and enthusiasm level high. I had a blast and I hope things turn around in 2010 in hopes of returning. At the very least I look forward to seeing the guys at [Step Up to the Plate]. Good luck, take care, and win one for # 22.”; Celio's triumphant portrayal of Coach Jack Bolton in Sedgwick Middle School's production of Disney's High School Musical ended on Sunday, April 5; Winsted Manager Paul Graves plans to drink heavily after this Sunday’s double header, regardless of the outcome: “Win or lose, I’m getting f***ed up. It’s Opening Day!”…Graves said his team will bring cold cuts or pizza for the post-game spread…“Digger” also added that he often considers resigning his position as head Rifle so he can join the Cannons: “You guys are the only other team I’d play for and I’m getting sick of the same headaches season after season.”…Web reaffirmed his affinity for the Graves, saying: “Paul’s a good guy…he’s an even better guy when we beat him!”; eight of the ten A Division teams were represented last night (Marlborough and Suffield did not attend).