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The Braves today announced the signing of free agent 1st baseman Dave Rebello. Dave is a Gold Glove caliber 1st baseman, with a line drive, John Olerud-type swing at the plate, whose presence adds even more hitting to a Braves lineup that has suddenly gone from having a precious few middle of the order types to a surplus.

Having played rep ball throughout his childhood, Dave hit the big time in 1992, when he led his high school team, Meadowvale, to the Prentice Cup Championship, defeating St. Mike's at the Skydome. Dave's performance caught the pro scouts attention, and Dave was listed on Major League Baseball's Central Scouting Bureau's top prospect list from 1992 to 1994.

Dave did turn pro 4 years later - not in baseball - but in pro wrestling. Dave was on the pro wrestling circuit from 1998 to 2004, calling it a career after injuries required him to undergo surgeries to his back and knees. Dave remains active in the wrestling scene, as he trains up and coming young wrestlers.

Dave has continued starring in baseball, playing in the Mississauga League's tier 1 division since 2003 for the Mets. He has been named an all-star 4 times, and is far and away the best fielding 1st baseman in the loop. This past season, Dave led his team in batting, on-base percentage, walks, home runs, and RBI's.

Dave brings a real intensity to the field, and the Braves are looking forward to having him as a teammate in 2011.

Signing #5 - Braves busy!

JAN-5-2011

The Braves are pleased to announce the addition of Dennis Sasek to the squad. Dennis is another veteran of the Mississauga League's tier 1 division, having starred in that loop since 2001, when he was named an all-star in his rookie season. He last played in 2007, when he led the Yankees squad in home runs.

Dennis is a 3rd baseman who possesses an absolute cannon for an arm. He also has the prototypical left-handed power hitter's swing. Dennis gives the Braves yet another excellent defensive infielder to add to what already was one of the slickest fielding infield defense in the league last year.

Stay tuned, the Braves are in serious negotiations with several more stud ball players playing in competing leagues.

Braves Announce 4th signing of winter

DEC-22-2010

The Braves are pleased to announce the addition of catcher John McNeil to the fold. John is a 9 year veteran of the Mississauga Baseball League's tier 1 division, having spent the past few seasons with the "Yankees", and before that with the Mets. John is a 3-time all-star, who at one point had a stretch of leading his team in home runs for 6 consecutive seasons.

Defense is John's calling card, as he possesses a gun for an arm, with baserunners rarely attempting to run on him. John is also a "pitcher's catcher", the kind of receiver who builds a rapport with the pitcher and is known for calling a great game.

The Braves have now gone from having no catcher at the start of last season, to 3 top backstops - our returning team MVP Chris Frizzell, and new additions Jeff Crouse and now John McNeil. Make no mistake - all 3 will be heavily counted on next season, regardless of which position they are manning in any given inning.

Welcome to the Braves, John!

We will be announcing more signings shortly, stay tuned.

Braves Add Pitching

DEC-9-2010

The Braves made their third signing of the off-season, inking pitcher Paul Valentini to a contract. Paul features a plus fastball and solid curve in his reportoire, and will begin the season in the bullpen. Paul is also an offensive threat, bringing power to a Braves offense that last year was more station to station.

Special thanks to Matt & Greg Froese for the signing. Stay tuned for more announcements, as the Braves are currently in serious negotiations with several others.

Braves Announce signing of Jeff Crouse

NOV-2-2010

The Braves are excited to announce the signing of 30 year old Jeff Crouse, a former Ontario Blue Jays player who brings an impressive resume with him.

As a teenager, Jeff was scouted as a catcher, as he starred for the Ontario Blue Jays squad - an under 18 touring team playing against major US college squads. He also played a year for a similar tour team, the Welland Renegades, which competed in tournaments organized by the prestigious National Amateur Baseball Federation (NABF). During the 1997 Regional Playdowns, Jeff was named tournament MVP.

Jeff played junior ball for Oshawa, where at age 18 he set a record for most home runs in a season with 19.

In 2005, playing for the Durham College Lords of the Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association (CIBA), he was named the CIBA's top hitter, winning the league's batting title, and was also named the league's top catcher. His performance led the team to the National Championship tournament. (Click here for media link - and scroll to bottom paragraph).

In recent years, Jeff has been one of the top slo-pitch players in Ontario, playing in the premier division, where his home run prowess is well documented. Jeff is excited to be returning to hardball.

The Braves recently watched Jeff play in the Golden Horseshoe Baseball Association's 18+ tournament in October, where in 2 games he went 3/4 and added 2 walks, with 2 of his 3 hits being screaming line drives that rang off the center field wall. With any kind of air beneath them, those doubles easily go for home runs. He also showed off a cannon for an arm, throwing a bullet to 2nd base from the left center field warning track on what initially looked like an easy double.

Jeff will immidiately become the team's #1 power threat, and as per the Braves philosophy, will come prepared to play many different positions on the field. Welcome to the Braves, Jeff!

Braves Celebrate Successful Expansion Year at Gator's Sports Bar

SEPT-29-2010

The Braves held their season-ender at Ted Gator's Sports Bar in Burlington last night, enjoying a 100% player turnout during an evening of beer, wings, and more beer. The evening and the turnout were testament to the amazing camaraderie each and every player on the roster truly felt for one another. Building a team is challenging enough, let alone putting together a roster devoid of cliques, attitudes, and petty jealousies. It is a tribute to our players who all put their egos aside, playing wherever they were told to play, and batting in whatever spot in the order, with no griping or complaining. The players enjoyed several social outings away from the baseball field during the season, with more to come as monthly poker nights and weekly indoor practices are already being scheduled. Want more proof of this unit's cohesiveness? Each and every Braves player has committed to returning to the team for next season. Many talk about the word 'team' not having an "i" in it, but how great is it when a team actually lives this philosophy?

The evening was also about celebrating the team's many accomplishments, which began with naming the Team MVP. He was a late pickup, on the eve of the BVB season, as the Braves suddenly had a vacancy at the catching position. In fact, when attempting to meet the team one spring Saturday morning for his first practice, he wound up at Ireland instead of Millcroft, and had to dodge a recruiting effort by the Braves' expansion cousins the Yankees. But lucky for us, he rejected their advances, found his way to Millcroft, and the rest is history. Our team MVP is our starting catcher, Chris Frizzell.

Chris provided Gold Glove calibre defense from the start, as he threw out an impressive 61% of runners attempting to steal! But offensively, the jury was out after the first 5 games of the season, as he was batting just .143 (2 for 14). But from that point on, he batted a robust .545 (24 for 44), with 6 doubles, and 12 RBI, and 14 runs scored in 17 games. He also drew 7 walks, giving him an on-base of .608 in that span.

For the season, his overall numbers were a team -leading .448 average, and 15 RBI in his 22 games played. He led the team in hits with 26, doubles with 7, runs scored with 17, RBI (15), and struck out just 5 times all year. Yet perhaps the greatest stat of all is his performance once he was installed as the team's every day cleanup hitter late in the year. He hit .450 (9 for 20), with 10 RBI in just 7 games. That's what you call clutch.

Before Chris begins making the late-night talk show circuit what with Letterman and Leno and the ESPY Awards show calling, he is taking some personal time to tie the knot on October 10th. Congratulations, Chris, from all of the Braves!

Chris Frizzell - TEAM MVP 2010

Moving on, it was time to announce the Pitcher of the Year. This was a tough battle, given that the Braves featured 2 of the top hurlers in the BVB, Greg Froese, and Constantinos Gionas. Although league stats are sketchy, it is a safe assumption that no other pitcher started as many games for their team as Greg did - 19 starts. To have a won-loss record of 4-4 on an expansion team that won just 8 games in total is testament to how important it was to the team knowing that Greg would keep us in the game after the first 2 innings. Greg finished with a sparkling ERA of 2.72, and in almost 40 innings gave up just 26 runs in total (15 earned), with 24 K's. The Braves were leading in 8 of Greg's starts, and tied in 2 others, when he left after his 2 innings of work. The Braves would have been hard-pressed to win any games at all had it not been for Greg's pitching at the front end of each game, and let's not forget how valuable his durability was in being able to answer the bell game after game, and pitch just as well as his previous outings.

But for Greg's efforts to not go unrewarded, the Braves needed a pitcher who could close out some of those leads, and that someone was Constantinos Gionas. Not projected to pitch back in the spring, as he is a natural shortstop, he asked for and received a pitching tryout a week before the season opener. He not only lit up the radar gun during that tryout, but he threw strikes - a lot of them! And thank goodness, because where would the Braves have been without him in the pen, closing out the final 3 innings of most games. His overall record is impressive enough - 2-2, a 1.87 ERA, and 63 K's in just 45 IP, with 5 saves in 6 chances (the one blown save the result of a defensive breakdown). But since this was his first season as a regular pitcher, it took him some time to find his rhythm and his confidence. This is most reflected in his control - he walked 21 batters through his first 19 innings, but then walked just 9 over his final 24 innings! He also gave up just 9 total runs over those final 24 innings, with just 6 being earned. Again, with league stats being sketchy, we can only guess, but it is a safe assumption that Constantinos led the league in strike outs by a landslide.

Watching how dangerous the Braves were in games where Greg Froese and Constantinos Gionas took the mound, it left many experts predicting a sharp rise in the standings next year for this team if they are able to add a couple of comparable pitchers to throw the middle innings between Greg and Constantinos. Congratulations to both, our Co-Pitchers of the Year.

Greg Froese & Constantinos Gionas - Co-Pitchers of the Year

Special thanks was extended to Dave Frizzell, who served as an Assistant Coach all year long, keeping the guys loose, offering his baseball insight, serving as official scorekeeper, and always bringing a cooler filled with beer (on a related note, Greg Froese and Dave are now best friends). We hope that Dave will be able to play an even larger role on next year's team.

Also special thanks to Ken Lee and Kaname Kakuma, who, through their Chartered Accountancy office in Oakville/Mississauga, sponsored the team by purchasing the bright red Braves jersey that came to be the envy of the league. Check out their business website at the following link: Kakuma-Lee, Chartered Accountants.

Thanks also to Gina Moretta, who designed our team logos while steering clear of any applicable copyright laws. Also thank you to Yany Chan for her help in recruiting our eventual team MVP.

Finally, a big thank you to each and every one of the players, who each contributed to the team's competitiveness in their own unique way, as follows, in order of position:

Chris Frizzell, C - What else can we say about him that hasn't been said above already. He showed up to the park smiling, he would catch all 7 innings for us and instead of wanting a pat on the back, he would thank us for the opportunity! As we watched him hit near .600 the second half of the season, we asked him if he has any friends who play ball, since even if they are just half as talented as Chris, they'll still be .300 hitters!

Ken Lee, 1b - a newcomer to playing hardball, he surprised everyone, and maybe even himself, with how well he picked up the game so quickly. The ball really jumps off his bat, and we envision Ken hitting multiple home runs in seasons to come. He came on strong in the Consolation Playoffs, as he hit 2 doubles, and almost had a 3rd but was thrown out on a close play at 2nd base.

Kaname Kakuma, 2b - Kaname was an intriguing player entering the season, since on one hand he had not played hardball since high school, but on the other hand said high school ball was played in Los Angeles, a hotbed of baseball talent. Sure enough, he started slowly, hitting .167 (2 for 12), but then hit .385 (15 for 39) the rest of the way, with 7 steals, and just 4 strikeouts all season long, to go with stellar defense at 2nd base.

Joe Stephens, SS - Having played with Joe for a couple of seasons in the BVB, the best way I can describe him is "intense". This man takes every single pitch seriously, and never gets cheated on his at-bats. He hit .392 this season with a .508 average, yet for him these stats represent an off-year. He also played a great defensive shortstop, and made some spectacular plays along the way.

Matt Froese, 3b - Matt played Gold-Glove calibre defense for us at 3rd, and hit 1 of the team's 2 home runs. He is a quiet leader, and always finds ways to help the team. This year he hardly saw anything good to hit, which led to him drawing a boat load of walks. Matt felt frustrated, as an old shoulder injury prevented him from pitching this year, although he did make one relief appearance, earning a save, and his teammates are still raving about the quality of his pitches that night. He has been working hard in rehab as he and us are excited about the possibility of adding him to our pitching staff next year.

Sean Clarke, 3b/1b - The consummate professional, Sean mainly played the corner infield positions, although he also played some outfield, served as a backup at catcher, and pitched a few innings too. He made 2 amazing fielding gems this year, one at 3rd where he dived to snare a liner, and one at 1st base where he dug out a bounced throw to save a game for us. But it is his line drive swing that most remember him by.

Constantinos Gionas, SS, 2b, 3b, OF - What a great role model for the team, to see one of its best players be so willing to play wherever he was needed in the field. And all who know him will tell you that him hitting .397, with 1 home run and 14 RBI's, while striking out just 2 times all year are stats that represent an off year for him.

Greg Froese, 3b, 2b, ss, 1b - Greg was similar to Constantinos, playing wherever there was a need in the infield, and doing it well. Greg got off to a red hot hitting start, carrying the team for the first bunch of games, as he was hitting .500 through the first 10. And although he slumped for a while after, he got red hot again in the playoffs, including driving in 4 runs in one game.

Geoff Flannagan, OF - Geoff brought his John-Olerud swing and his Jay Buhner arm to the Braves, and led the team in outfield assists, as he threw out 5 runners from the outfield, most at home plate. Geoff also hit many rockets with his picture perfect swing, including 4 doubles and 1 triple. He finished hitting .345, with a .433 on-base.

Joe Rizzi, OF - Our proto-typical leadoff hitter, Joe led the team in walks with 18, and stolen bases with 10. He also played a strong defensive center field. With this being a conversion season for him from slo-pitch to hardball, we expect an even better season from him next year. Joe played every inning of every game.

Mike Tavella, OF - Mike had not played baseball since the late 1980's, yet picked up where he left off when he drove in a team-record 5 RBI in a thrilling one-run loss against the Cardinals. He went on to finish 2nd on the team with 14 RBI. He also drove in the very first Braves run of the year, and the last one as well. Mike played every inning of every game this year.

Neil Johnson, OF - Neil played a strong defensive outfield, capped by his stunning catch in the Consolation Finals. And although he had an off year with the bat, he hit several shots to the outfield fences, and his full potential remains untapped.

Todd Campbell, P - Todd started the year with us, left for BC, then unexpectedly returned for the second half, and truly gave the team a boost with his pitching. He recorded a 2.33 ERA, with just 5 walks in 24 innings. He showed us how competitive we can be when we string together three tough pitchers in one game - him, Greg, and Constantinos. Unfortunately for us, Todd has taken a permanent position in BC starting this fall, and won't be back with us. We wish him well and hope to see him next summer at the Nationals.

Mike Gionas, INF - As coach of the team, Mike saw his role as that of super-utility player, filling in wherever there was a need. That attitude led to him playing every position on the field, except for center field and shortstop. Mike also enjoyed one of his best offensive seasons, hitting .310, and finishing 2nd in runs scored, and 3rd in hits. He filled in as leadoff hitter for 3 games during the Consolation Playoffs, and drew 4 walks, collected 2 hits, and scored 5 times in those 3 games.

As the off season has now begun, the Braves are close to finalizing the rental of a school gym for weekly use. Also, the Braves are busy recruiting players, with the wish list including 2 or 3 top-calibre pitchers and a couple of heavy-hitting position players. We have already begun contract talks with a couple of players who fit the above criteria.

Next on the calendar is the BVB Banquet, and the Braves are anticipating a full team turnout for the event.

BRAVES BEGIN INDOOR WORKOUTS!!!

The Braves have secured use of a school gym in Oakville and begin weekly (optional) indoor workouts every Thursday evening until April.

We are in the process of assessing how many of our own players will be attending, but if we find that the gym size allows for more participants than we anticipate, then we welcome any interested players from other BVB teams to attend, beginning the start of February.

Our plan is to hold baseball-related workouts from 8pm to 9:30pm, and then get a pickup basketball game going, and possibly even floor hockey on alternating weeks. If you are interested in attending should space become available, please email Mike Gionas at:

BVBBRAVES@HOTMAIL.COM

Braves Fundraiser: The Full Monty!!

Thanks to the twisted mind of pitcher Greg Froese, the Braves are now taking orders for their 2011 Calendar. And coming soon, the Braves "Full Monty" Bachelor Auction!

Braves Capture Consolation Championship

SEPT-19-2010

After falling short in their bid to win the BVB Championship, the Braves turned their attention to the slightly less prestigious Consolation Championship, and came away as victors of the second division. The team continued building on their second half regular season success, which had seen them complete the year on a 2-1-1 run, which included an upset win over the BVB Championship Finalist Brewers.

The Braves won their opening round robin Consolation game over the Cubs by a 5-2 score, and then defeated the Yankees by a 12-1 margin, thereby clinching a spot in the Finals. This allowed the team to have some fun in the meaningless third and final round robin game against the XMen, choosing to let most players play out of position, and grant a couple of non-pitchers their lifelong dream of pitching in a BVB game. The results were disasterous of course, as the Braves surrendered the third-most runs ever scored against them in one game, dropping a 12-8 decision to the Xmen.

That set the stage for the Final, versus those same Xmen, in a game that was much closer than the 10-1 score would indicate. The Braves set the tone in the top of the 1st, when leadoff hitter Mike Gionas worked a leadoff walk, after fouling off several 2-strike pitches. Joe Stephens then singled, and the Braves pulled a double steal. Constantinos Gionas then hit a sac fly to deep center to score the first Braves run, and Chris Frizzell drove in the 2nd run with a line drive single to left. The Braves would add a 3rd run thanks to a bases loaded walk by Greg Froese. Braves 3-0 over the Xmen after the top of the 1st.

Greg Froese then went to work, as he made his 20th start of the season for the Braves, and this one was just as solid as the other 19. He shut down the X-Men over his 2 innings with 2 K's. Mike Gionas entered the game on the mound to pitch the 3rd and 4th with the score still 3-0 in favor of the Braves, and he too shut out the XMen over his 2 innings on just 1 hit and no walks. Meanwhile, in the top of the 4th, the Braves extended their lead to 4-0 when with 2 out and Greg Froese on 2nd base, Neil Johnson hit a hard grounder to short, to which Froese made an excellent baserunning play by screening the fielder until the very last moment, and that was enough to result in the ball getting past the shortstop, allowing Froese to score. 4-0 Braves after 4.

That brought in Braves closer Constantinos Gionas, and the game appeared to be in the books. But the XMen put together a series of great at-bats against the hard-throwing rightie in the bottom of the 5th, which resulted in 1 run in, with the bases loaded and just 1 out. That's when the TSN turning point took place. The next XMen batter tried to bloop a ball opposite field into right for what looked like a sure base hit, but Braves right fielder Neil Johnson sprinted in, and then flat out dived head first, making a sensational catch. Not only did his gem record the 2nd out of the inning, but the XMen baserunner at 3rd was so shocked, he didn't even have a chance to tag up from 3rd. Constantinos Gionas then reared back and struck out the next XMen batter, ending the inning and the threat, and keeping the score at 4-1 Braves after 5.

The 6th inning was where the Braves blew this one wide open. Joe Stephens led off with a sharp single to center, and quickly stole 2nd. Constantinos Gionas followed him up with a single and a stolen base of his own, and it was 2nd and 3rd, when Chris Frizzell singled on a ball just out in front off the plate, loading the bases on the infield hit. After an infield pop-up, Sean Clarke lined a single into left center, scoring 2 runs. Geoff Flannagan then drilled a double over the center fielder's head, scoring 2 more, and then followup RBI singles by Ken Lee and Mike Tavella rounded out the 6-run mercy inning. 10-1 Braves.

That would be more than enough for the fine Braves closer, as he shut down the XMen over the 6th and 7th innings on 4 strike-outs, and 6 for his 3 innings of work. Also notable in this one was Braves catcher Chris Frizzell throwing out 3 runners attempting to steal, which completely shut down the XMen running game.

Other notable stats from the Consolation Tournament's 4 games were Greg Froese picking up 3 wins, while giving up 0 earned runs and striking out 9 in his 6 innings of work; Mike Gionas, who appeared in 3 of the games, pitching 7 scoreless innings on just 2 hits and 3 walks; And Constantinos Gionas, who threw 9 innings, giving up just 2 runs in total, while striking out 14. On offense, the Braves averaged 9 runs per game, led by Constantinos Gionas who went 6/9 with 6 runs scored, 5 RBI, and 2 stolen bases in his 4 games; Regular season team batting leader Chris Frizzell continued his hot hitting going 6/13 with 5 runs scored and Gold Glove defense behind the plate; Greg Froese had 5 RBI, including 4 in one game; Ken Lee hit .444 with 2 booming doubles and a 3rd where he was called out on a close play at 2nd; Joe Stephens had a .571 on-base with 5 runs scored and 2 steals as the #2 hitter in the order; Geoff Flannagan led the team with 3 doubles in the 4 games, and 5 RBI; Sean Clarke hit .375 including a double that actually bounced off the top of the fence and bounced back in; Joe Rizzi led the team with 7 walks drawn for a .571 on-base, with 2 steals, including an improbable steal of 3rd base in the Final; And Mike Gionas scored 5 runs in the 3 games he served as the fill-in leadoff hitter;

The Braves final season record was 8-15-4, a record that doesn't come close to telling the full story of the fits this team gave many a BVB team over the course of the season. The Braves definately came on strong in the 2nd half, something they will use to build towards a contending 2011 season.