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Dragon slayers

Team promises to knock off Draci Brno ? next year

By Dave Faries
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
April 9th, 2008 issue

KURT VINION/THE PRAGUE POST
Krč Altron veteran Jan Homolka is looking toward the team's promising youth movement this season.
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Extraliga Baseball


2007 Final Standings

W L
Draci Brno 25 3
MZLU Brno 20 8
Krč Altron 17 11
Arrows Ostrava 17 11
Technika Brno 15 13
Skokani Olomouc 8 20
Tempo Titans Praha 6 22
Black Hill Blansko 4 24
The story has been told throughout Czech baseball’s Extraliga, the same tale, 13 times over.
It always ends with Draci Brno celebrating a championship, something it has accomplished every year since 1995. As the 2008 season gets under way, no one expects a different outcome, although there are signs of stirring in the also-ran ranks.
Prague’s Krč Altron lost sluggers Tomáš Čása (.299 last year) and Michal Müller, a .388 career hitter, along with spot starter Vladimír Kůs from a team that finished third in 2007, forcing new manager Richard Kania to move promising rookies into more prominent roles.
“Müller was a big loss,” said Krč veteran Jan Homolka. “Otherwise, we’re a good team. We have some young guys, though.”
Prague’s other team, the Tempo Titans, struggled last year and received more bad news after the season, when the Philadelphia Phillies signed their first baseman, Jakub Sládek.
But it was shoddy pitching that almost relegated the Titans to the second division, so they added four arms to the roster for 2008.
“We did a lot of work with our pitchers during the preseason,” said shortstop Pavel Míka. “So we will see how it’s gonna work.”
Ostrava hired manager Edgar Reyes from the Philippine national team, and he brought fireballer Jon Robles along to anchor the Arrows pitching corps.
The most active team during the off-season was Technika Brno. After failing to land a playoff berth last year, they brought in a new manager, Randy Barber; lured U.S. pitcher and first baseman Jon Dobyns from Arizona; and acquired Czech star Jakub Vančura from Regensburg in the German Bundesliga. They also picked up hard-hitting Roman Langer from the Šumperk Cannibals, a second-division team, and promoted four players from their junior squad.
“Our plan is to go to the finals this year. If we beat Draci, that would be great,” said Technika’s Martin Střítecký, a .287 hitter in 2007. “Next year, we will win the Extraliga.”
That’s an ambitious goal for anyone in the league — in any year.
At first glance, Draci looks more vulnerable this season. It did not re-sign U.S. import Doug Dreher (.333) and exchanged catcher Michal Břeň (.397) for MZLU Brno’s Radim Chroust. Meanwhile Martin Veselý, a .412 hitter over the past three years, will miss at least three months due to a ruptured Achilles tendon.
“I have a lot of outfielders, so we won’t slack defensively,” Draci manager Arnošt Nesňal said. “But he’s my No. 3 hitter, so this leaves a hole in our offense.”
Of course, that lineup produced 7.1 runs per game over the 2007 season, with six starters batting over .300. Pavel Budský reported to camp in great condition following an “off” year — he hit .327 but had no home runs and only 18 RBI. And Draci’s near unbeatable pitching tandem of Martin Schneider (6-1, 1.83) and Marian Gajdoš (7-1, 1.48) returns intact.
“It’s the same team,” Homolka said. And Nesňal, in the end, agreed: “We will be in good shape.”
Under the circumstances, Krč may find it difficult to climb that extra rung or two. Young infielder Petr Zýma is untested and Miroslav Kovář hit a mere .191 during his first stint against Extraliga pitching.
But if these two falter as Müller’s replacement, Krč has Jan Drábek on loan from second-division Liberec. And filling Čása’s old right field spot is Matěj Hejma, a slick fielding 18-year-old who will join the Minnesota Twins organization later this year.
Krč’s pitching staff remains strong, with Homolka (3-5, 2.72), Matěj Hušek (5-3, 0.70) and Jakub Jonák (4-3, 1.66) handling most of the chores.
Still, Krč has only had one practice outside, Kania said, since a miserable March curbed the team’s workout schedule. “In the gym, everybody looks good.”
As for Tempo, its goal is modest: ride the bat of Jiří Drha and hope its new additions — incoming pitchers Vít Křepinský and Lukáš Josefus, both acquired from the second division; Kůs, picked up from the team’s cross-town rivals; and Lubomír Janda, on loan from Liberec — will propel the Titans into fifth place.
Otherwise, the story for 2008 looks pretty familiar: Expect another championship for Draci Brno.
“We will do everything to reach that goal,” Nesňal said. “But you never know — it’s baseball.”

Dave Faries can be reached at dfaries@praguepost.com


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