Roncesvalles looks for an identity

The 2016 Roncesvalles Rockets are an enigma. No one knows how they will fair this season. Certainly the competition hasn't gotten any worse and the Rockets haven't gotten any younger. Can the veteran squad be the champions or will they crash and burn yet again?

 

The pitching staff is on paper among the best in Burby with Callaghan and Belardi set to carry the team, though paper is used to wipe ass and not win Burby games. Noteworthy is new acquisition and veteran Rob Leth who is no slouch at the plate and adds depth on the mound if needed. DY is recovering from injury and is not expected to throw at all.

 

Hitting wise this could be the most dominant lineup if firing on all cylinders. However injuries and consistency are always a challenge, especially for Stro who is yet again on the DL, this time with a dislocated elbow. Even on the mound the once untouchable Joe Callaghan proved to be not infallible last year. Paul Duthie has improved at the plate every year.

 

Again how the Rockets do this year is up in the air. It could be a triumph of experience and craft, or a fall to earth from old age and has-been-ness. Bad news bears old man edition or O.J. Burby squad? Look for the Rs to be in every game triumph or defeat, BUBBA is on the roster for spiritual support. 

 

Greg Majster

 

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Rockets 2014 Preview 

The Rockets have nothing else to prove except the ability to win the big one.
With plenty of individual accolades on the mental in the Rockets line up; nothing less than the TBL Championship will prove to be a successful season.
 

Returning are Pitcher of the Year Joe Callaghan, Reliever of the Year Derek DY CY Young, and Slugger of the Year Greg Majster.

 MAJSTER,CALLAGHAN AND DY ARE TIRED OF UNDERPERFORMING.

 

The Rockets perhaps most significantly are adding depth to the team by adding Jacob Millar to the squad.Jacob aka Jay has unsurpassed passion for the game of Burby, having had lived outside of province for the last 13 years has not diminished his love of the game.Jay was an all around All-Star in the now defunct Burby League of '92 and '93.Considering the often wounded or absent regular season woes of the Rockets, having Jay as a regular may prove to make the Rockets a dominant squad in the regular season.

The big bat of Allister Bubba Parkdale is also set to return, but with Jay in the picture Bubba can hopefully finally play the role of DH and save his knees for championship vball.Other appearances expected in the Rs line up should be Jeff "The Judge" Mitchell, Phil "Skill" Sampson, and Eric Church.

With Ronces and the Parkdale/High Park area traditionally being a Burby hot bed; there is always a number of west end characters ready to step in should family matters or the rockstar lifestyles of the Rockets be an issue any given game day.
Majster is working on securing one more committed player to ensure a strong showing every time the Rs step up to the box.
With a new logo created by @Stro1 to infuse a renewed energy to the squad on their drive for their first Burby Cup title, the team should be blasting off for success come spring time.

RONCESVALLES SPORTS THE NEW RETRO LOGO IN 2014.

 

Barring any injuries and unforeseen circumstance, in theory this Rockets squad should be considered the favourite and dominate beginning to end.

Weather not having the pressure to prove anything as individuals interprets into a winning team on the field remains to be seen.
The squad certainly knows anything less the cup is failure to launch, as always it will be interesting to watch and see how the Rockets actually do.

 

Greg Majster
 

 

 

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It was a veritable scorcher at the dragons Den , where the Rockets

 

 

Ronci fight off Warden

April 7th 2012--The Roncesvalles Rockets & Warden Warriors got their respective TBL seasons on their way at the grounds of Oakridge Hill. The RR's came out on top 5-3 in a fairly tight contest.  DY was in his usual form, dominating on the mound and at the box. DY hit a solo HR, and went a solid 4 innings for his first W of the season. The big news for the RR's was the performance of newest RR's acquisition Jassa Campbell who in his first TBL appearance hit the game deciding Grand Slam, and came in to pitch 3 for the save. Bubba & Stro  played mere supporting roles at the box in the RR's victory. Stro did make a notable defensive play with a leaping RF snag during the 3rd inning taking certain extra bases away from The Warriors.

Pictured is former RR's player, Warriors veteran and TBL personality Tom Haivarlis at bat with former teammate Bubba Parkdale watching.   

-- Stro

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2012 TEAM PREVIEW

Simply put the 2012 Roncesvalles Rockets will try to achieve their potential. Historically the west end has been a Burby hotbed, thus 'Ronces' has always had a large pool of players to choose from. Whether it's a direct connection to the Lil' League World Series renown High Park baseball program, or just the high density of kids per capita in the area the talent has always been there. The now TBL decommissioned 'Shrine' (Fern P.S. ) official exhibition home of the R's is one of a handful of Burbon parks that saw Burby League play dating back to the early 90's. There were actually two separate leagues being run on Ronces in the early to mid 90's, a Jr. & Sr. League. Two products of the Jr. league are again wearing the R's colours: 'DY' ( Do You In ) Derek Young and 'Bubba' Allister Ramanoop. DY is one of the stars of the TBL both on the mound and at the box. The Big Bat of 'Bubba' returns to slugging for the R's after a year off from seeing TBL action. Veteran Greg Majster, HR king of the Sr. league and more recently the 2010 TBL home run derby champ looks to prove himself again after an injury damped season in 2011. Perhaps most notably the R's will see Ace Thome Mayers - Sawa return to the mound after an amazing half season in 2011. Velocity, control, dominating presence are what come to mind when trying to describe the 6'6" High Park baseball product. Matt Amaral is the fourth Rocket at the core of the roster, with only 4 TBL games under his belt & 2 hrs, his exceptional athletic ability should prove to be a force for the R's in the TBL. Other names on the Rockets roster are honorary presidente of the Roncesvalles Rockets Jeff 'The Judge' Mitchell, a crafty Veteran RHP who is also a threat at the plate. David Hodes formerly of the Hallam Hammer is also being added after being picked up in a trade with the Brickies . Other notables being added to The Rockets roster are Eric Church, Paul Robinson, and Fraser 'Freaze' Robertson to name a few. All three are products of HP baseball and no newbies to the game of Burby. Rockets depth and ability looks unbeatable on paper, however Burby isn't played on paper and the Rockets are going to have to 'show up' to play if they're to full fill their potential. The Rockets roster is deep enough to field a baseball team, so you never know who you will face any given weekend. However a call for commitment has gone out to the core of the team so that the Roncesvalles Rockets can shed the reputation of being the Philadelphia Eagles of the TBL. With this in mind The R's are rooting for their crosstown rivals the Brickies to make the finals, so they can galvanize Leslieville as the Bills of the TBL.

--Greg 'Stro1' Majster

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Rockets take 5th place with decisive win against east rival Leslieville Brickies

 

Aug-2011--Today marked the first appearance for Rocket's vet Stro since the all-star game.  Also a season first, the Rockets were able to dress and play all 4 roster members.  The fully loaded Ronces crew would not be denied on this day as Tom's arm and Dy's bat muscle the Rockets to 8-1 win over the Brickies.  

 

Tom pitched 5 solid innings giving up only 3 base runners while striking out 9 in 5 innings.  The outfield proved utterly useless as he caught a one bounce come backer; the only non strikeout of his 5 inning win.  Dy closed out the game but surrendered a run to blow the shutout.  Overall a great performance for the Rockets.

 

The Long Ball was the story of the game this afternoon.  Rockets took Brickies pitchers Kennedy and Snow deep for 3 Home runs.  Dy went 4-6 at the plate smacking 2 Home runs and cashing in 3 RBI.  Amaral continues his streaky play at the plate going 3-4 with a Homerun and also 3 RBI.  It took some time for Stro to come around after his long absence from the game.  Stro wasn't able to reach base until his 4th at bat but ended a solid day at the plate with 2 hits and 2 RBI.  Tom...  well... Tom struck out 9 batters, so...  yeah, we'll leave it at that.

 

The Rockets improve to 6-6 and move within 1 game of the Heat.  Next up for the Rockets is the Sudbury Saturday Knights and the Ronces crew is eager to put a nice little dent in that perfect little record of theirs.  Spectators Welcome, Saturday 19th @ the Dragons Den.  Come for the Burby, stay for the Rockets After party.

 

 

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Huge win for the Rockets vs Heat.

 

Matt Amaral, newest rocket, Followed up his 8 for 9 debut with back to back 1 for 9 performances vs the Masons and the Heat.  Fortunately vs The Heat that 1 hit was the Game Winning solo HR off All Star pitcher Kevin Leach.  Scotland pitched 2 solid innings.  He gave up a few base runners in the second but managed to get out of the inning unscathed, handing the ball to Leach with a 0 - 0 tie.  Leach sat down Amaral and Dy with back to back Ks making quick work of the 3rd inning.  The 4th opened with a bang.  Dy connected with a drive to right field that got snared by Scotland.  With 1 out in the 4th Matt describes the Solo jack as a reactionary swing that just happened to make contact.  The bomb cleared the fence and Scotlands outreached glove by mere inches.  Dy stepped back to the plate and smacked a single off Leach, but that was the end of their 4th inning rally with Leach retiring Amaral and Dy back to back.  Rockets Loaded the Bases in the 6th with 2 Dy singles and a Amaral walk, but Leach managed to Strikeout Amaral to get out of a jam.  in the top of the 7th the Rockets were looking for some insurance and got runners on 1st and 2nd but couldn't bring anyone in.  You could tell the Heat were pumped going into the bottom of the 7th.  Dy made quick work of Scotland with a 4 pitch strikeout.  Leach hit a first pitch single which brought Nick, the tying run to the plate.  After getting ahead to a 0-2 count, Nick managed to foul off some good pitches and was patient at the plate and worked his way back to a 3-2 count.  Nick wasn't able to complete the impressive at bat and Dy got the final K of the game with a swing and a miss Slider.

 

 

New Rocket Ace Tom Mayers-Sawa couldn't make the game so Amaral and Dy took the field on their own on Saturday afternoon.  The Heat's Scotland was looking forward to a battle with Tom, who has 23 Strikeouts in 4 appearances and has yet to give up a run this year.  Matt took to the mound for the first time this year and held his own just fine with 3 strikeouts and 3 pop flies over his 3 innings.  Dy pitched 4 innings with 7 Strikeouts and followed up his first Hitless game EVER with an impressive 5 hit afternoon.

 

Rockets Keep pace with the Brickies who also won their game Saturday.

 

 

 

 

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Bats Turn to Ice amidst summer Heat wave

 

With the League Leaders in Hits and RBIs going face to face, a predicted Slugfest turned into one of the years best pitching duels.  Although newcomer Tom has yet to surrender a single run this year, Dy started on the mound for the Rockets.  From the get go it looked like it would be a rough day for the pitchers.  After a lead off walk, HR and RBI leader Rob Leth walked to the box and jumped all over a curve ball in a 1-2 count.  That 2 run jack put an early start and abrupt end to the afternoons offense.  Dy settled down to surrender only 1 hit while striking out out 8 over his 5 innings.  Despite having base runners all afternoon, and Loading the bases in the bottom of the 7th, Rockets fail to cash in runs once again and suffer their 3rd shutout loss of the season. 

 

Masons 2 - Rockets 0 

 

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Roncesvalles take down the Birch Cliff Bears to move into a 3 way tie for 5th.

 

Going into the afternoon, the Rockets were ready to battle in a low scoring game.  This is what was expected given the combination of Darby's 1.35 ERA, and the Rockets recent slump at the plate.  But, the Afternoon at Earl Haig belonged to the Rockets as they roughed up the Bears pitchers for 8 runs.  The rockets scored 6 against Jason Darby in his 5 innings at the plate.  Darby managed to make a few incredible over the shoulder grabs as he tracked high pop flies into the outfield.  His defensive tenacity helped keep the Bears in striking range early in the game.  The Bears scored their run off DY after 2 routine pop flies were dropped in the outfield.  The Rockets were determined to bounce back, fueled by the memory of what transpired vs Hallam, where defensive gaffs with 1 out kept Hallam at the plate.  Looking to make a mends, Tom opened the flood gates with a 2 RBI triple in the 3rd inning, which jump started a 4 run inning for the Rockets.  Derek left the game with a 6-1 Lead and Tom shut the door from there, tacking on some insurance of his own with a 2 run HR in the 6th.  The Rocket pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts.  Overall a giant step in the right direction for the Roncesvalles Rockets.

 

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Next up - Ronces vs Hallam at the Dip

 

 

The Rockets will take on the Hallam Hammer at the Dip July 7th.  These teams have yet to see each other this year.  Can the Hallam pitchers shut down the TBL hits leader, or will the  rocket bats wake up after a disappointing blanking in their last competition.  So far this year the Rockets have underachieved and are looking to make  amends.  Derek is on a mission to put numbers on the board and get his arm back to where it was last season.  With Greg and Bubba on the bench, Ronces is looking for offense from their call-ups Eric Machedo, and Tom Mayers-Sawa.  Eric has done a great job picking up innings on the mound but his has yet to break through when stepping up to the plate.  Tom hit a HR in his first game with Ronces, which turned out to be his only hit of the game. 

 

For the Rockets to have a chance in this one they are going to have to bring a strong effort to the plate.  Otherwise, look for Hallam to score a few and win a low scoring game.

 

 

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Dusters 8 - Rockets 0

 

The Rockers were anticipating this matchup even since they fell 5-7 to the Dusters in their first meeting.  Their first matchup saw DY toss 5 shutout innings, only to see their lead evaporate in the later innings.  This time Cherry, Murph and Duco put the bats to work from the get go.  After scoring a bunch in the third off Eric, Dy came in relief only to surrender 4 more runs in his 5 innings on the mound.  A Huge HR by Jack off a hanging slider literally was the Cherry on top of a disapointing game for the Rockets.  If the Rockets top 4 can get healthy look for them to make a push in the senond half.

 

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Warriors 0 - Rockets 3

 

A couple of newly revamped rosters hit the field at the Dragons Den.  The Warriors picked themselves up a new ace in Tom, who threw a Gem of a game giving up only 3 runs in 5 innings of work.  Starting on the mound and playing in his third game for The Rockets was Eric Macedo.  Eric started things off with a few walks but settled into his own to strikeout 4 in his two short innings.  Tom played his first game as a Rocket and didn't disappoint.  He jacked a solo HR in the second and picked up the save on the mound.  Dy looked ready for the playoffs as he K'd every batter he faced.  

 

It was a great pitchers duel, but in the end the Rockets were able to come up with timely hits to take the game 3-0 on their home field.

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Ronci feasts on Rocky's pitching for an easy victory. 

You could tell right from the git, Rocky didn't have the arm to put up a competitive game. In a 2-on- 2 game that was a make up from an earlier  rain out, Rockets'  DY was teamed with Ronci affiliate, Eric Macedo and Wallballers' Rocky, was playing with seldom used teammate, Yusdel Amaro. 

Both Ronci batters had Rocky timed immediately, tagging him for 7 runs in the first 2 innings. Dy started for the Rockets,and was his usual dominant self, given up 4 runs in 4 innngs. 

Dufferin's Yusdel, would have to carry the brunt of the pitching when it was obvious Rocky had little left . Yusdel kept his team close, giving up only 2 runs in his 4 innings. Roncesvalles last minute call up for the game, Eric, lit up the park with steady hits and on the mound, he held DWB for 0 runs. The Wallballers would fail to deliver clutch hits in their at bats and the score ended 12-4 for the Rockets. 

Roncesvalles play their next game next week versus a hungry Saturday Knights crew, while the Wallballers face the Brickies at home in one of the more anticipated game of the year for both crews.

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ROCKETS ON THE LAUNCHPAD FOR 2ND SEASON

After an up and down 2010 season, The Rockets are poised to take over the TBL and bring the Burby Cup to Roncesvalles. They have the tools in place. Here they are....

 

Stro1: The TBL GM of the year 2010 as well as the All star homerun king leads his veteran team into its 2nd season.  Stro 1 provided most of the starting pitching in the rockets 1st season due to injuries and personnel issues.  However his batting did not suffer, knocking out 7 homeruns.  The heart and soul of the rockets team Stro 1 provides leadership and a winning attitude when the chips are down.  Stro also has more on his plate this year with the newest Rocket baby River that likes to cry and poop himself while playing.

 

The Judge: The veteran pitcher will look to have a comeback season this year after spending most of the 1st season on the IR list.  The judge came back at the end of the 1st season helping the Rockets into the playoff with strong pitching and clutch hitting.  Look for the judge to share the starting pitching duties for the Rockets or to close out down the stretch. 

 

 

Skill Diller: Pitching Ace, master of ball control is the main closer for the rockets.  In the first half of a tumultuous season for the rockets Skill only got a few chances to show his great control.  Skill also possesses a calculated bat, comparable to the uniqueness of a young Nomar. With the new stats in play for the 2nd season look for skill to be one of the two Rockets Mvps.  Skill was forced from the rockets roster last season due to scheduling conflicts with football, Aka Deon.

 

D.Y.: Another of the Rockets pitching aces, DY has good control but the speed to throw the heat.  DY is just an all around athlete, great pitching, great hitting and great fielding can you say league MVP.  DY came the Rockets roster half way into the 1st season with stellar results, as scene by any team that played the new roster.  DY was called up from his London location to upgrade the Rockets Roster.  DY can be found this season probably diving to take away hits or climbing fences to take away homeruns.

 

Bubba Parkdale:  Known to carry big wood or Aluminum, BP looks to continue into another great hitting season.  Don’t look for BP to be pitching or chasing down balls in the out, just don’t leave any pitches hanging over the plate because BP will get a hold of it.  Also the assistant manager of the Rockets look for BP to make the calls in lineups and pitching rotation.  BP is awaiting for the new season in the Tbl to see what the best in pitching is coming, just to knock them down a notch.

 

The Legend Lou:  The extreme veteran the legend may appear at a game near you. 

 

The Rockets are awaiting a new season with a set roster in place.  This year there will be no doubt, no bad calls, no discussion, no arguing balls and strikes just W’s.  

 

written by

Bubba Parkdale

 

 

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2010...

 

 

 

BRICKIES LONE HIT  ADVANCES LESLIEVILLE TO SECOND ROUND!
SEPT-26-10 After stealing home field advantage from the Brickies in the final game of the regular season, the Roncesvalles Rockets,  played their first round playoff match at the Dragon’s Den, walked into the park, only to find the Brickies players already there, preparing to face them for a while now. Rocky got the call to pitch for Leslieville, Jeff ‘The Judge’ for Ronci, and the first 4 against 4 TBL burby game in some time was underway!

The Judge was shaky for his first 2 batters in the first inning, giving up walks on 4 pitches to each. After striking out the next batter, it was obvious his curve ball was starting to work, something the next batter was picking up on. Sitting on the bending offspeed, Rocky sent the third pitch he saw, a curve, high to the left field fence, just over the glove of Rockets’ outfielder DY, for a 3 run homerun. Jeff, with superfan son in attendance, struck out the next batter to end the inning. He would go on to pitch 2 more solid innings, leaving after the 3^rd with only the first inning runs scored against him.

Rocky was also pitching playoff caliber burby, striking out 9 of the 10 outs he recorded, giving up a bases loaded single to Greg ‘Stro1’, in the last inning he pitched. Roncesvalles was able to get “runners” on the base in the first four innings aswell, but Rocky was able to locate his pitches, and escape his 5 inning start, with a 3-1 lead, highlighted by a risky curve to Bubba, who had asked for it, but was only able to foul it off.

DY came in to relieve for the Rockets, and was his usual dominant self, pitching 4 flawless innings to keep the score at 3-1 heading into the bottom of the 7^th.

Leslieville manager, Adrian Golombek trusted his other reliever Geoff Van Toen, over himself, to save the most important game of his team’s existence. Geoff came in the 6^th, and after a strikeout, and a couple of flyball outs to his speedy outfield that included Darren Osborne, Geoff found himself in a 3-walk bases loaded situation against Rockets’ DY. The first 2 pitches went smoothly, with a 1-1 count, but the next 5 pitches were all hotly contested by both the ump (Stro1) and pitcher (Geoff), with the batter and Adrian also getting involved, resulting in 5 retake pitches that came down to a full count. Putting his emotions behind him, Geoff, perhaps surprising the batter DY, whizzed a fastball low inside the strike zone for a backwards K, to save the 3-1 upset win over Roncesvalles.

The Rockets showed nothing but incredible sportsmanship in their controversial loss. They are a model of what every team looking to join the TBL should hope to be; committed, passionate and legendary! They'll be playing on Super Sunday in a Finals friendly. 

The Brickies pull off the champagne worthy victory on the back of one hit and prepare to battle east-side rivals, the East York Royals, in the semi finals at St. Bernie’s, where for 7 innings this Sunday, friends become enemies!