I'm picking the spring 2008 Bay Rivers District season to be yet another wild one, unlike how

the Peninsula District often is with two or three dominating teams. Yes, this year Tabb, Poquoson, York, Grafton, Jamestown, and Smithfield will be smacking each other around back and forth. Tabb looks to be the favorite, with quite a few returnees and good catcher in Davey Everheart. Poquoson also has a good catcher behind the plate, with Kendall Charles leading the way and looking up the middle to the slick-fielding Pinder brothers.

A baseball God on the Peninsula, Rusty Ingram told me in an exclusive interview that York's pitcher Will Lamb will be a draft pick this year.

Jamestown+Mark Schultz= wins. This senior is a small guy, but he finds ways to sneak his heater past batters, especially when his breaking ball is working.

What's there not to like about Smithfield? Second year Head Coach Bryan Thrift led the Packers to the district championship, turning around a 2006 team that didn't qualify for the playoffs. The Packers have a host of seniors, including senior Patrick Morrison, who had just one loss last season on the mound.

But then there is Grafton. Coach John Hammons is right up there with Tabb's Doug Baggett with his ability to consistently put his team in a good position for regional play.

New Kent has upset teams every year since they entered the Bay Rivers less than a decade ago. Lafayette returns a young squad and some possible pitching prospects.

Warhill is a brand new program. I think the battle of the bottom standings will be played out with Warhill and Southampton, a team that should be awarded extra outs per game for the ridiculously long drive they have for every away game.

What is going to be the determining factor this season? Often undervalued, the coaching staff will play a vital part to the 2008 season. On paper, Smithfield has loads of talent--but Coach Thrift is young, perhaps last year was a fluke. Smithfield has undergone a brand new coaching change, with last year being the first season Packer fans had a new look at a smarter crew in the dugout. It turned out to be a good decision, but pitcher Jacob Evans (now at Methodist seeing some time on the hill) anchored the staff with Morrison complementing him. Tabb is an easy pick to do well, because I have full faith that Coach Baggett will find a way to win. He has for years and not just in baseball. He just finished up his boys basketball season in the regional playoffs. Plus, I really like Everheart's bat. I watched him play this summer at the Muscular Dystrophy games and he knocked the cover off the ball, helping lead Crush Con to a championship victory in the senior division against a good Kempsville-based team.

Jamestown is going to ride as far as Schultz pitches them--and he will pitch a lot, as Eagle pitchers have historically been known to throw an extreme, unhealthy amount of innings in a week.

The York Falcons have former Denbigh Head Coach Rusty Ingram unofficially partnering up with them. This is a great sign for this ball club, an offer that any program in the area would love to have. If he has confidence that Lamb has tremendous pitching ability (he emerged last season as a premier pitcher), hitters better get some extra cuts in during practice and refine their swing if Lamb is set to pitch against them.

The last angle I will take towards this season is going to be how well the catchers perform. Tabb, Poquoson, Smithfield, and Jamestown all have solid catchers. I already know the all-district selections will be controversial, but I suppose that is every year. I'm just emphasizing that this year will be a little more competitive than others.

Catch a game. It looks like we have a potential draft pick, an abundant amount of college talent, and as always, a host of great coaches battling it out for another exciting season.

Click Here to view this Link.