Rain Washes Away Game, But Storm Shouldn't Stop Brookline's Playoff Plans

While it turned out to be a pretty nice night, Thursday afternoon's sudden downpour washed away any chance of a matchup between Brookline's Under 16 Lou Tompkins All Star team and their Medford rivals yesterday. With the game off, we talked with manager John Bucci about the prospects of making up the matchup and the team's outlook heading into the Tournament of Champions.

Brookline will have to wait another day — potentially on Friday — to exact a little revenge on Medford after the torrential downpours canceled play on Thursday night.

However, Brookline is sitting in much better position than the team that defeated it 2-1 way back on July 6. Heading into the Tournament of Champions, which begins next Tuesday, Brookline finds itself staring at potentially no worse than a No. 3 seed — barring it takes care of business — while Medford is clawing to gain entry into postseason play.

Brookline manager John Bucci knows that his team is in for a good game, whenever it is played.

"Medford is a good team and they are right on the cusp of making the (tournament)," said Bucci. "So they are going to throwing everything they got because they need everything they can get."

The hometown boys have been playing pretty well of late, winning their last three games and piling up some pretty consistent offense output in the process. Brookline has outscored its opponents 44-12 over the last three contests — with 12 of those runs coming in the game against Framingham.

The two teams that stand in front of Brookline for the all-important No. 1 and No. 2 seeds are Parkway and Acton, and luckily for Brookline, those two have to play each other before the tournament begins.

So Brookline could slide into the top-2, and that would secure a home game for every game in the double-elimination round starting next Tuesday.

"It's kind of what you are shooting for," Bucci said of the home field advantage. "Obviously we are not going to jeopardize our chances just to get the better seed, but I want to set ourselves up."

Health has been a bit of a factor over the past couple weeks for Bucci and his squad. Henry Lucey injured his arm while at bat and is out for the rest of the season. Third baseman Scott Cordner is in a walking boot and injured his wrist after an accident on the basketball court, according to Bucci. But Cordner could be back if everything checks out.

"Scott is day-to-day believe it or not," Bucci said of his third baseman. "The ankle is  a sprain and they are just being careful with it … The wrist he is getting X-rays on and if there is no break in the wrist then he will get that brace off. I'm sure he's going to want to get right back in there."

Either way, this team is solid heading into the Tournament of Champions thanks to its pitching staff. Campbell Narron will throw in the Medford game and you can expect him, Eric Dumas and Adam Blumberg to be ready to take the ball in the postseason.

"It appears that we are in, but I never count on anything until it's certain," said Bucci. "But it looks like we are already in at this point. It looks like we are playing for a seeding now."