League Notes
By Marc Brafman
After a long winter (and a year off for some of you), it’s finally game week. Welcome back to all of you returning players and welcome to the rookies. After a long off-season, here are some league notes to get us ready for the season plus a quick recap of the draft and a preview of this upcoming season.
Congrats to Mike “Flash” Creemer on 20 years of being “Mr.” Mike to thousands of kids while working and leading the Blue Jays program at the JCC.
Eric “Sabo” Zied will have to put his energy that he was going to take to Reds fantasy camp and channel it into his play with Team Brafman this year due to Reds fantasy camp being postponed again. No truth to the rumor that he was going to be co-captain of his team with Big Gig.
Kudos to former pitcher Barry Kaplan on being named 2020 circle of excellence winner for realtor of the year.
Lots of guys became fathers for the first time or had another baby since last season: Zach Meyer, Micah Kamrass, Dan Grefer and I’m sure more but those are the three that I know.
Unfortunately, on the other side of things, the league lost parents and friends such as Oscar Jarnicki. Sorry for the loss of parents to Dee Harris and former player, Randy Sandow.
For those of us that are going out to dinner again please make sure you help out Jason Esterkamp by visiting O’Bryan’s Bar & Grill. Stop by after a game this year. Or visit one of Jeff Finkelstein’s restaurants, Basil’s on Market in Troy and Beavercreek.
Who knew that Scott Friend’s son was an author? Yes, that’s right. He might be under the age of 12, but he has written a kid’s book. Scott can fill us in more once the season starts on how to get it.
Finally, it won’t be a league notes without checking in on everyone’s favorite e-seller, Roger Rosenthal, who outdid himself this winter by selling 2008 Women’s NCAA tournament chair cushions. I have no idea why anyone had these, or why anyone would want them, but leave it to Roger to find them and sell them. Not sure what is worth more, that or his Homer Bailey combo bobble head.
To briefly recap the draft, or “Brad Wagner Christmas” as Commish Rick put it to start with, here are some notes from the draft held last Thursday night:
1) Captains debated about the merits of eating edibles before the draft and the effect it would have on their teams
2) On more than one occasion Stu Solomon was so involved with thinking (or overthinking) that Commish Rick had to make sure he heard that it was his pick
3) the most influential person in this year’s draft might have been Adam Cronstein’s dad, which was a running joke throughout the night.
4) Someone dubbed the Team Kamrass “Team Bachelor Party” until the later rounds when it became “Team Golden Girls”
5) For the third year in a row, Team Brafman drafted the first rookie and he (I) hope to continue the trend of getting the best ones of the bunch.
6) Team Schwartz, which has been in the league a very long time had no idea that Mike Rothstein and Corey Norris are BFF’s when he drafted them and seemed very pleased with himself that he made such a bold pick up
7) Jerry “Doc” Kirzner was delighted to be part of the Kirzner family picks this year when his grand nephew and rookie, Camden “The Bearcat” Kirzner ,went as a mid-round pick. Said Jerry, “I haven’t been picked this early since Gerry Ford was in office.”
8) When Team Grefer was on the clock and taking their time, this seemed to upset Team Schwartz, who claimed that he had to get home “For supper and to watch the Masters” thus becoming the oldest Capt. in the draft even though he might be the youngest.
9) Not to be outdone, Ken Groh tried picking Jeff Weisbrot twice, Jason Faust, Jake Taylor, and Brandon Larson before finally settling on Ryan “The Hebrew Hammer” Baum.
Last but not least a league preview:
Team Lefton looks to be strong as usual with the Harris family anchoring the middle of the outfield/infield. Rookie, Sebastian “The Cat” Kunkel could be the diamond in the rough for this team. A very impressive move late in the draft might put this team over the top. With a nice mix of younger guys and vets, the Leftons could make a nice push this season. “We are ready to make another run at the title,” Jimmy said. Anytime you have Griff, Wags, Kunkel and Scott Friend in the middle of your order we should put a lot of runs on the board.” Interesting fact: Team Lefton should be called “We are Family” since it has three sets of different family members on the same team (Kunkel, Lefton and Margolis)
Team Brafman might be the most versatile in the league this year. “As the draft unfolded the guys who can play multiple spots on the field just fell to me,” Brafman said. I’m really excited to mix and match lineups and spots on the field. Two returning rookies who played in the league in years past make up a big part of Team Brafman’s roster. Andrew Gage and Ben Rosenberg will man SS and RC while Mark Tenenholtz will be the man in the middle in the outfield. With Fink taking his first full turn on the mound this year, Team Brafman is expected to keep teams at bay with defense and hustle. Interesting fact: If you are looking for any Jewish baked goods, stop by Team Brafman and hit up Sam “The Hitman” Hecht, as his wife (and my sister-in-law) is making the best Jewish baked goods in the city.
Team Weisser: Weisser went big early in the draft with some of the fastest and younger guys in the draft with David “Slim Shady” Wertheim and Harry “Hood” Meisner. “I wanted speed and quickness this year,” Weisser said “and along with those two, Josh Rosen and “Handsome” Sam Castellini, I have that in spades.” While this team might not win on the field, they will definitely win the St. Louis Cards bench jockeying award. “With Roger, Z and Wertheim we will win the talking award, for sure.” Interesting fact: Roger Rosenthal and Howard Goldwasser were once traded for each other in a draft and season many years ago. It’s nice to see them reunited on Team Weisser this year.
Team Solomon: With the youngest overall team in the draft this year, Team Solomon is ready to pounce on the competition. “Speed and power are the two things I look for in a player,” Stu said post draft and I think I found it with Stansbury, Danny Gilbert and Michael Askin. I’ve got two rookies this year in Alexander Wold and Mark “Bruiser” Wolfe (not to be confused with the other Mark Wolf), and along with my return to the diamond this year, we should be ready to wreak havoc on the league. One note on this team-the entire JCC league will be waiting with bated breath to find out what type of hat the always fashionable Evan Gildenblatt will be wearing this season. Interesting Note: During the draft, Stu was commenting on how many guys in the league grew up on his street. While I can’t remember any of them, I do believe he said that Ickey Woods would come around and try to sell them all meat.
Team Groh: It came as no surprise to any of the draftnicks in the room on Thursday that Groh picked Jeff Weisbrot, but what did surprise us all is that it lasted until the 3rd round. Team Groh might have the best defense in the league with the Fogels playing alongside Jeff and David “The Doctor of Style” Weil behind the plate. “I’ve tried to go the hitting way the last few years,” Groh said, “but this year I thought maybe I should try and draft for defense.” Getting big rookie, Zach “fluffhead” Michelson and cagey vet, Jim Beckett later in the draft might put Groh over the top. Interesting fact: Groh has the largest collection of baseball hats in the league and was trying to figure out which one he liked best to match his team color. Along with David Weil, look for Team Groh to be the “RuPaul” of the league this year
Team Grefer: this without a question is the most interesting team in the league this year. The Grefers returning from a year away took the Wolf pack along with the Living League Legend, Howie Schwartz, also coming back this season. “We put all our chips on the table early with our first couple of picks,” Danny and Kyle said post draft. “We know that Howie is like Nolan Ryan; he just keeps getting better with age.” Not since Ben met Jerry have two families merged to form a team quite like the Grefer-Wolf team. “It’s always been a dream of our dad, Gary, to play with the Wolfs,” the boys said. “We were happy to make his wish come true.” Interesting fact: Will Weston “Hungry like a” Wolf and Dr. Bob Pelberg be able to coexist on the same team? It was only two seasons ago that they looked like Yadi vs. BP on field three, so along with everything else it will be fun to watch them play together.
Team Kamrass: the Brothers Kamrass have an interesting team this year with two of the best SS in the league Zach Meyer and Rafi “Baby Beluga” Goldfarb on the same team. (It should be noted that Rafi’s hair was taken in the 11th round) Along with D-Sol and Flash Creemer the Kamrass’ have a glut of catchers and older cagey pitchers in Eppy and Keith Kombrink. “We figured that if having one old older pitcher was good, two were even better,” Micah said post draft. With more returning players (Meyer, Rafi, Ryan “Hi Ho” Silverman, Riley “The Big Man” Able and both Kamrass brothers) than any other team plus promising rookie, Scott Sadler, this team, once it knocks the rust off, could be an interesting team to watch. They also may take the title from Team Brafman last year of having the slowest bottom of the order in JCC history (thanks guys). Interesting fact: Riley “The Big Man” Able might have had the busiest offseason of anyone. He passed the bar, got a job and got married.
Team Loon: Anton, over the last few years, has taken the Reds of the mid-2000’s approach to softball. “We are going to mash the ball and try and beat teams by outscoring them.” Once again Loon is trying to prove that theory is a winner. With returning players such as Jason Esterkamp, Stu Weinstein, Matt Brodoff, Scott Berg, Gregg Harris and very promising rookie, Camden Kirzner, who I believe is the youngest player in the league, Team Loon might score 18+ runs a game. “I loved the Reds approach in the mid-2000’s with Griffey, Dunn, Kearns, Larkin, etc. They won a lot of NL Central titles so I’m trying my best to replicate it at the J.” Interesting note: without sidekick and brother-in-law, Greg Leader, at the draft, Loon is much more relaxed and very fast when it comes to his picks. “Losing Greg with his computer, spreadsheets and Mel Kiper draft guide has really streamlined my approach,” Loon said.
Team Schwartz-Defending post season champ and league overall #1 player, Taylor Schwartz, returns with an interesting mix of players. “Now that I’m the champ, I feel I can manage anyone to a league title,” Schwartz said. “I’m really excited to have such laid-back guys on my team as Mike Rothstein, Adam Cronstein and Pete “the Straw that Stirs the Drink” Soltesz on my team. I’ll miss my brother when he moves to Washington but as a player well,” Schwartz said walking away. Jamey Kurtzer mans the mound for this talented squad, which also features B-Rod, Corey Norris and rookie Dan Perlmutter. “Like last year, I know we will be the underdogs this year,” Schwartz said, “but that is just the way I like it.” Interesting note: the entire league will continue to monitor the mental health of Taylor this season. A year after losing his BFF and roomie Leon “The Bull” Seserman, now he will be without his brother. “It’s a very trying time for me but I know with the support of my team I can make it through this season.”
Good luck to all the teams this season. See you at the field on Wednesday!