Pitching Depth Will Be Key For Fairfield American In Williamsport

Some random thoughts on an off day for Fairfield American at the Little League World Series:
 
Judging by the way he's been pitching, Fairfield American ace Nick Nardone could be a No. 1 starter on any of the 16 teams in Williamsport. He has allowed only one run in his last 12 innings.
 
Going forward, however, a key for Fairfield American will be what it gets from Nos. 2 and 3 starters, Jack Quinn and Eddie Magi.
 
The stricter pitch limitations require a team to have three starters to advance to the semifinals. That's different from 1989, when Trumbull National won it all with basically two pitchers - Chris Drury, he of future New York Rangers fame, and Andy Paul.
 
Since he surpassed his pitch limit of 85, Nardone won't be able to pitch against until Wednesday. The rules dictate that he must have four days off from pitching, so he'll move to his other position - shortstop - for Sunday's game against Pearland, Texas.
 
Whomever manager Chris Daley chooses to pitch Sunday - Quinn or Magi - could have a tough assignment against what  appears to be a stacked team from deep in the heart of Texas.

Pearland hit four home runs in Friday's 10-8 victory over Plymouth, Minnesota on Friday, although it did have to hang on after opening an 8-0 lead after two innings.
 
----  Much has been of the expanded use of replay in the LLWS.
 
On the professional level, I'm probably 70-30 in favor of expanded replay, the one concern being that it would lengthen already long games.
 
In Williamsport, however, I don't think it's a good idea. If there is a bad call that is reversed, it's going to embarrass a volunteer umpire. Keep in mind that all the umpires in Williamsport are volunteers.
 
Of course, I'm also of the belief that the games - before the final, at least - shouldn't be on ESPN in the first place because it puts too much pressure on 12- and 13-year-olds, but that's probably a minority view.
 
---- Little League Baseball did make a good decision by altering the format in the first round from Olympic style pool play to a double elimination tournament. This way, every game is meaningful, which wasn't always the case in pool play.

---  Does Fairfield American third baseman Nate Klein, all 4-9 and 73 pounds of him, ever have a bad day?
 
He was constantly smiling in Bristol for the New England Regionals and hasn't stopped smiling since. We don't have the official heights and weights of all the LLWS teams, but he could be the smallest player in Williamsport.
 
After scoring Fairfield American's first run Friday, Klein was so excited that he danced atop third base as he waited for the next inning to start. Ah, the innocence of youth.

---  I would like to see Nardone and Quinn -- Fairfield American's top two power threats - in a home run hitting contest against Yankee backups Francisco Cervelli and Ramiro Pena, who have no home runs in a combined 339 at-bats this season. The Fairfield American guys might win.
 
---  Former major leaguer Nomar Garciaparra, one of ESPN's broadcasters in Williamsport, is trying to come off as this humble and gracious guy, but I'm not buying the act.
 
In 2004, he pouted and basically quit on the Red Sox when they wouldn't re-negotiate his contract. The best thing the Red Sox ever did was trade Nomah. If they didn't, they wouldn't have won those two World Series titles because Garciaparra had become too much of a cancer in the clubhouse.
 
---  Always neat when a team in the LLWS has the son of a former major leaguer on its roster. The Puerto Rican squad in Williamsport takes it a step further.
 
The team is managed by Jose Valentin, the father of former major leaguers Jose and Javier Valentin, both of whom cheered fron the stands during Puerto Rico's 11-0 rout of Germany on Friday.
 
The elder Valentin has three grandsons on the team, and two of them made big contributions in the win. Yomar Valentin homered twice and drove in five runs and Victor Valentin also went deep.