TORRANCE TRIBUNE June 16, 2016 Page 5 Up and Adam Tartars Baseball Season Ends Amid Controversy By Adam Serrao The Torrance Tartars were enjoying yet another successful baseball season under head coach Ollie Turner. In typical Torrance fashion, the Tartars began their first few games slowly. Once the team gelled, however, they began putting together wins and making a strong push for this year’s CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs. After the team ended their regular season with a win at home against their rivals from West, it “After all has been said and done, it must be realized by the CIF Southern Section that the rule, which eliminated Torrance from the playoffs, is simply an outdated, inane regulation.” was finally time for the playoffs to begin. A strong start to the postseason, though, was mired in controversy and confusion when Turner and his team was told that they would have to forfeit this year’s playoffs due to a batting practice blunder. The Tartars began this year’s postseason run firing on all cylinders. A first round matchup against Fullerton saw Turner’s team roll over their opponents by a final score of 4-1. Konnor Smith got the offense going in the first inning with an RBI double that would score the first run of the game. Dante Mendoza took over pitching duties for the Tartars, allowing only one run through five innings while striking out three. Travis Martizia and Alex Gallegos came on and pitched perfect back-to-back innings of relief to close out the game and seal a first-round victory for the Tartars. “I came out looking forward to the game and it’s great to get a win under our belt,” Smith excitedly explained of his team’s playoff potential. “We’re coming along, getting together. It’s crunch time.” Unfortunately for the Tartars, that crunch time ended before the next round could even begin. After their opponents loss, Fullerton coaches sent video to the CIF Southern Section depicting Torrance conducting illegal batting practice before their first round, 4-1 victory. After reviewing the video sent to them, the CIF-SS issued a statement, stating the Bluebook Bylaw 1522.2: “Teams entered in the baseball playoffs will not be permitted to take batting practice on the day of a playoff game prior to the commencement of the contest. Batting practice will be construed as ANY type of pitching motion with ANY type of ball from in front of the batter (including pitching machines and overhand throwing). The CIF Southern Section Baseball Coaches Advisory Committee went on to explain that “the only acceptable batting warm-up will be side soft toss, batting tee work, or pepper.” Because the Tartars violated this rule, they were thus eliminated from the playoffs and forced to forfeit their first round victory. In response to the infraction, coaches of both team’s voiced their thoughts. “I knew the rule,” coach Turner explained. “It just didn’t occur to me at the time that they were not off to the side. I guess they sent in video of us under-handing the ball in front of guys instead of from the side.” Fullerton coach, Tony Gonzalez, went on to say that after seeing Torrance working in the batting cages with one of the coaches, he and his team would be playing the game under protest. “It raised some red flags for us,” Gonzalez explained. “We were 50-50 on whether it was a violation, but we told the umpires before the game that we would be playing it under protest.” Coach Turner took full responsibility for the team’s blunder, sending out emails to parents and addressing the team before an extremely rare case of a season-ending win would start summer early for the Torrance baseball team. “The bottom line is I messed up. It’s something I have to live with,” Turner said. “We were hoping they could fire or suspend us coaches and let the kids play on.” After all has been said and done, it must be realized by the CIF Southern Section that the rule, which eliminated Torrance from the playoffs, is simply an outdated, inane regulation. Ten minutes of batting practice didn’t help the Tartars win the game that day. A superior offense, coaching staff and a group of pitchers is what notched the 4-1 victory for Torrance. The Tartars would have won the game if they failed to take any batting practice at all. The fact that the CIF had to revert to “Bylaw 1522.2” says all you need to know about how a Federation (the CIF) over-manages what is supposed to be a game and other teams (Fullerton) are using it to their advantage. Let the kids play, and through victory or defeat, accept the results and move on. Fullerton (15-15, 9-6) went on to lose in the very next round by a final score of 4-1 to California. California then lost in the third round (quarterfinals) to the eventual CIF champions, Laguna Beach. Torrance (18-12, 7-3), on the other hand, saw a second place finish in the Pioneer League and a great end to the regular season come to a crashing halt because of a CIF decision. Seniors on the team like Ryan Siebert, Eddie Zavala and Michael Ybarra will never know how their final season with the Tartars could have ended. Former professional baseball player and a man with a Torrance background, Eric Byrnes, would later assemble a team of players and put on a scrimmage game to give the Tartars one last chance to take the field, in lieu of their disqualification. Byrnes assembled former UCLA Bruins like Scott Seal, Cody Decker and Brett Krill. Comedian Brody Stevens and musician Kelley James arrived and even former Dodger, Shawn Green, was on hand to give the team a pep talk. The Tartars wound up winning by a final score of 13-9 at Kendall Field in Torrance. It may not have been the picture perfect ending to the season that the Tartars were looking for, but thanks to Byrnes, the guys got an experience that they will likely remember forever. • Lakers Prepare for NBA Draft By Adam Serrao The 2016 NBA draft is only one week away and the Los Angeles Lakers could not be more excited. Who wouldn’t be excited after a season in which one of the greatest franchises in NBA history only won 17 games? Just being involved in the draft, though, doesn’t automatically mean that you’re going to become a better team. Only one month ago, there was a chance the Lakers would lose their pick if they weren’t selected in the Top 3 of the NBA Draft Lottery. “As the No. 2 team choosing, however, the Lakers simply sit back, relax, and choose whichever player the Philadelphia 76ers (who choose first in the draft) don’t choose.” Fortunately for them, they were selected as No. 2, overall. As everyone affiliated with the Lakers, fans included, breathed a deep sigh of relief, attention quickly turned to next Thursday’s draft. What do you do with the No. 2 overall pick? Well, it’s simple really. You wait and weigh out all of your options. The Lakers are truly in the perfect position when all of the scenarios play themselves out. Naturally, it may be better to pick first overall so that you have complete control over who you draft onto your team. As the No. 2 team choosing, however, the Lakers simply sit back, relax, and choose whichever player the Philadelphia 76ers (who choose first in the draft) don’t choose. Obviously, things aren’t as easy as what has just been described. There is, naturally, a lot of studying, debating, and proliferating as to who the Lakers will actually choose when the pen finally hits the paper. This year’s draft, though, certainly has a way of making things a bit easier for Los Angeles. It has been widely known that there are only two highly touted picks in the draft this year. After the second pick, the talent pool drops off drastically. At least, that’s what the “experts” say. Naturally, someone who is picked in the late first-round or even in the second round can, one day, turn out to be better than the number one (or two) overall pick. Look at Tom Brady, for instance. Naturally, that would mean to look at a different sport like football, but for comparisons sake, the player selected first overall in Brady’s draft class in the 2000 NFL Draft was defensive end, Courtney Brown. Brady didn’t receive his selection until the sixth round. Unfortunately for Brown, he hasn’t really been heard of again. That’s one rare example, though. The two talents in this year’s NBA Draft figure to take the route opposite of the one Brown traveled in the NFL. Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram, by all indications, should certainly pan out to be stars in the NBA soon after they are drafted by their respective teams. All signs point to the 76ers taking Ben Simmons as the first pick of the draft. Simmons has been highly touted as the best talent of this year’s draft for some time now and Philadelphia doesn’t necessarily draft intelligently. They simply take who they believe they should take without much study or deliberation involved. That’s why they’ve been the worst team in the league for what seems like the last five years now. That’s not to say Simmons is not the clear No. 1 choice of the draft. The Lakers would certainly be happy if he fell to them at No. 2. All signs point to him being a great talent and he would fit in perfectly with a young Lakers squad. Chances are that the Simmons scenario will not play itself out for L.A. That leaves only two scenarios left on the table for the Lakers. Draft Ingram at No. 2 or trade the pick for a veteran. “Just off the top of my head, I don’t think there’s a lot of players we would trade for with that pick,” Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak said, as he laughed all rumors of trading his selection away. David Aldridge of NBA.com perhaps put it best when he said, “Few expect the Lakers to move the pick, after all the angst they had to go through this year to secure it.” Just as all signs point to Simmons in Philly, it seems more and more as if all signs are pointing to Ingram in Los Angeles. That is not a bad thing, either. Ingram is a wing player that should be a perfect fit on a Lakers team that is in need of, well, everything. He should bring defense, much-needed shooting ability, length, speed and rebounding to a team that has been devoid of all of the above. In addition to his attributes and intangibles, Ingram is young. The 18-yearold out of Duke will fit right in with a roster of players that are aged similarly. Also, according to ESPN Analytics, Simmons is the riskiest pick in this year’s Top 10 picks and has the highest chance (35 percent) of those 10 of becoming a bust. Ingram only has a 26 percent chance of becoming a bust, according to the analytics, while he also has the highest chance of becoming an All-Star (25 percent) and ranks as ESPN Analytics No. 1 overall player on the board. The Lakers may not win a championship next season, but once all of the young studs finally mature, LeBron James should be well past his prime, the Warriors run will be over, and Los Angeles should be primed for another dynasty-type-of run. All things considered, owning this year’s No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft is a great thing for the Lakers any way that you look at it. Either the team comes away with a prospect like Ingram to add to their already young stable of talent, Simmons falls to the team at No. 2, or they trade their pick for an already established veteran who could, theoretically, fast-forward the team’s chances at contending for a championship. Being at No. 2 is a good place to be, any way you look at it. Now, we’ll all just have to sit back and wait one week longer to see what the Lakers decide to do with the fortunate position that they have been offered. • Burkley & Brandlin LLP A T T O R N E Y S A T L AW Living Trusts/Wills, Probate, Employment Law, Personal Injury Trust and Estates Litigation, Business Litigation, Civil Litigation 310-540-6000 *AV Rated (Highest) Martindale - Hubbell / **Certified Specialist Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization Like Us on Facebook
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