BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI
Staff Writer
Brick Memorial ace pitcher Joe Short said he expects to be back on the mound this week after his preseason was hindered by tendinitis in his pitching (right) shoulder, but new head coach Jeff Pierce could not put a timetable on his return.
“I can come back right now but it’s been a little tight and they only have me throwing off the mound right now as a precaution,” said Short. “Hopefully I’ll be ready. It’s still going to be sore.”
Certainly, the Mustangs missed his pitching on Friday when Toms River East broke open a 4-1 lead in the late innings for a 10-1 victory on opening day of the high school baseball season. Memorial then fell to 0-2 but rebounded with three straight victories coming into this week’s action.
With the depth in pitching, there’s been no rushing Short by Pierce, an assistant coach last year under Frank Casey, who resigned after one season because of work commitments. It’s the third different coach in three years for Strong.
“It’s not really a change for me, just two different coaching styles,” said Short. “Casey did a good job. He taught us different things about the game. Now, coach Pierce just brings us additional things.
“Every time there’s a change, you work hard at it,” said Short. “This year, there’s more of a focus on defense and pitching.”
Hitting will take care of itself with a lineup that has a number of players back from a team that showed more improvement than its 9-11 record last spring would indicate. The Mustangs barely missed qualifying for the NJSIAA and Shore Conference tournaments last season.
Short, who was 3-3 last season, got the victory on Brick Day against Brick Township at BlueClaws Stadium in Lakewood, as the township rivals split their two head-to-head meetings last season. Brick Memorial last week beat Brick Township, 17-6.
Short adds a circle change to his pitching repertoire of fastball, curveball and splitter under the tutelage of Pierce, who pitched at Brick Memorial and Rutgers University.
“It’s going good. I have a lot of control on it for strikes,” said Short of the circle change. “It dips and rotates to the right, and you throw it with the ring finger and middle finger on the seam, like a two-seam fastball.”
What also will complement Short’s pitching is having Andy Case behind the plate for the third year in a row. Although Case has started off slowly with the bat hitting in the cleanup spot this season, he’s thrown out four of seven runners attempting steals over the first five games.
“I think he’s the best catcher in New Jersey,” said Short with a tone of convincing seriousness. “For any pitcher, it’s great having him back there. It can help ease your concentration on runners because everyone knows he can throw runners out. The confidence with him back there is unbelievable.”
And there are other players behind Short who make him feel confident as well competing in the grueling Short Conference A South schedule, like right fielder Kyle Strang, who is going to St. Peter’s College, center fielder Rob Russo, third baseman Joe Baldasare and shortstop Jay Frank, who saw a lot of action last year. Frank belted two homers while driving in eight runs against Brick Township in the 17-6 victory last week. There’s also left fielder Tom Clarke and second baseman Rob Gonzalez.
“The team looks really good,” said Short. “There’s a lot of talent. The core players have been together for a long time.”
Short says his biggest improvement comes with his experience of knowing the teams and the hitters’ tendencies. And he says the team was improved last year just because many of those players, who are back again this year, have gotten more closely knit.
It makes him eager to get back into the swing of things with them soon.