Glen Cove Baseball Plans Big Attitude Adjustment

There's been a major attitude adjustment on Glen Cove High School coach Carmine Rotolo's baseball team.

Big Red returns a group of players from last year's 8-12-2 ballclub, including six seniors, in hopes of finishing above .500 and claiming third in its division.

"We need that experience," Rotolo said. "They've been around a few years."

That core leadership will come from the pitching staff's ace, Peter Cappiello, shortstop Richie Maccarone, and four other seniors returning to Rotolo's bunch. The battle-tested team – Rotolo said the team loss about six one-run games last season – will have to fight hard against division foes such as North Shore and Plainedge.

"I keep telling them if they slack off one inch, it's going to be pain for us in this league," said Rotolo, who is about to begin his second year as head coach.

Glen Cove will kick-off its regular season against Wantagh on April 7 – a day after the team returns from a five-day road trip to Florida for a pile of scrimmages against national opponents. The team's home opener will be held on April 10 against Clarke.

The team, Rotolo said, is focusing the first couple weeks of practice on self-discipline, fixing base running errors that hurt the team last season and making a change to the overall attitude of the squad.

"It's all about building character with them, that's what will carry us," said Rotolo, who played three years of collegiate baseball for Stony Brook University.

"This is the most cooperative group of guys," added Cappiello, a senior returning for his fourth season.

Leading the Big Red at the plate will be third baseman John Bullock, a junior who batted .340 last season.

"He's looking to really make some waves in our league this year," Rotolo said.

To turn the corner from an 8-12-2 team to one with a winning record, the team hit the batting cages each week since December and worked out in the weight room together.

"We're more of a team this year," Maccarone said. "There isn't a lot of complaining."

With a better attitude, a more cohesive and team-oriented approach, expectations are high heading into 2010.

"We're looking for a big improvement from last year," said Cappiello, who has verbally committed to Le Moyne College in Syracuse to play baseball in the fall.

While the team brings a lot of veteran leadership to the field, it will have to work on its attitude. The team's motto for the year is, "New Year, New Attitude, No Excuses."

"Attitude is one of the big things [to improve on]," said Bullock, a junior returning for his fourth varsity season.

Players are looking to use a reversal in attitude to help make the program – and themselves – better.

"I slumped off last year," Cappiello said. "I want to bring it up to where I know I can pitch."

Cappiello said he hit 88 mph on the radar gun recently, and hopes to get that up to 90 by the time the season starts. Cappiello sees the difference in ball games coming from the plate, and not making errors on the base paths.

"Our defense has always been phenomenal behind me," Cappiello said. "It's going to come down to our pitching and our hitting."

For more news about this team, visit glencove.k12.ny.us/athletics/default.asp. To read more of Patch's coverage of Big Red sports, click here.