Aspen Interiors Fastball 2008
After a disappointing 2007 where we failed to improve upon two consecutive top 5 finishes at ISC's and another year of
failing to make it to Sunday at Canadians, 2008 will be year of redemption for our club. As any veteran club will attest to,
the ball "season" tends to start earlier with each year we get older. As individuals we have made a commitment to be better prepared for the rigors of the 2008 season. A season which will see us play a more demanding schedule. Time will tell
how prepared we are.
With the Canadian championships being held in our own backyard we looked to improve the club to try and put us in a position
to be playing on Sunday. As in the past, we looked to add character as well as talent. Our first priority was to add another thrower that could not only help us compete but more importantly could compete with our own staff for innings. Rick Smith was someone we were more than familiar with as he has pretty much had our number over the last few years. With Smitty we've got a guy with national team experience who's also been on successful teams through his years with Victoria and Vancouver. We're excited to bring a guy on board that is known as a great team guy, a competitor and most importantly a guy who will compete for the ball.
Our next addition wasn't someone that we targeted because we just never saw him as being available. Sean O'Brien has been a mainstay with the national team as well as one of the most respected players in the game for a decade now. Sean was familiar with all our throwers and more importantly our throwers loved the idea of throwing to Sean. There isn't a hitter that we'll face that Sean isn't familiar with. Although it'll be his first year with the team we expect Sean to be a leader on this club for the 08' season. Our 3rd addition is a player who will begin his second tour with us, Geoff Evely will return for the 08' season. Socky as he's known by most, will look to solidify our IF as he will be looked upon to play SS. Socky is young in years but his knowledge and understanding of the game is that of a veteran, a tenacious player who will bring that exuberance of youth back to our club. We're thrilled to have Socky in an Aspen uniform again. Our final addition was another player that has killed us over the years, Dale Levy. Red will be looked upon to captain the OF and bring some needed power to our lineup. Dale has played his last number of years with the Kitchener/Waterloo Twins, we feel Dale will be a great fit both on and off the field.
Joining Rick Smith on the pitching staff for 08' will be Dean Holein and Trevor Ethier. Deano will look to build on a strong 07' season that saw him pitch without injury for the first time in a few years. Dean is without a doubt one of our leaders and is fired up about the 08' season and the opportunity to show that he is still one of the elite in our sport. Rounding out our staff is Trevor Ethier. Trevor epitomizes the term "mental toughness", a great team guy who will push to be our ace for the 08' season.
With Geoff Evely expected to play ss this will allow Darrell Joy to return to his natural position of 2nd base. DJ was forced into playing ss for us last year and ended up having his best year in an Aspen uniform. DJ will once again hit in the top of the order and lead by example as he always has. Third base will have a familiar last name but a new first in 08'. Keith Mackintosh will make the move to the hot corner this year. If you had to sum Keith up in one word, consistent would be the word of choice. A hitter with a plan who works his way on and comes up with clutch hits. I guess clutch hits must run in the family as Pat Mackintosh seems to come up with his fair share as well. Patty is back again and will look to man one of the three OF spots as will as doing spot duty around the IF. A versatile player who carries a big stick, Patty lead our team in HR's last year and is pretty much a lock to hit in the middle of the order from start to finish.
Rounding out our roster will be locals Chad Hanson who will play 1st base and spend some time in the role of DP.
Mike Lawton, a versatile player whose game got better each and every weekend. Lawty will look to earn a starting spot
in the OF. Jason Hitchings, a steady OF who will also compete for playing time. Completing our roster is Ryan O'Neill.
2007 was Ryan's first year back playing ball at a competitive level in a number of years, Ryan battled rust as well as injury the whole year only to get back to Newfoundland for nationals and catch fire and get rewarded with a well deserved All-Canadian. We expect more people to know his name by years end. With the announcement of this years squad we also wanted to take this chance to give a thanks to a couple players who won't be with us in 08'. Both Andy Jackson and Craig Horswell will be spending their summer with St.Thomas in 2008. AJ did a little bit of everything for us in 07', gave us some great pitching performances, played some first base and had some big hits. Horsy caught almost every game for us and did what he does best, kept everyone loose. Like most teams, we have had players come and go over the last few years. Andy and Horsy will be greatly missed. Both were classy, competitive guys who always put the team first. St. Thomas, our loss is your gain.
We will release a schedule as soon as it's finalized. See you at the yard!!
