CITY SECTION BASEBALL PREVIEWS : VALLEY PAC-8 CONFERENCE

Mid-Valley League Birmingham COACH: David Contreras, 1st season LAST SEASON: 19-7-1; 1st in league, 12-5 PLAYERS TO WATCH: Contreras, who previously coached the junior varsity, has a solid group of experienced players with which to work in his first campaign as head coach. He has six returning starters, four of whom batted .300 or better. Senior Mike Malkin, who moves from left to center field, hit a team-high .411 last season and will bat leadoff. Mike Belasco (.342) is back to play first base, as is third-year starting catcher Seth Rosenzweig (.315). Senior left-hander Jason Mansfield and senior right-hander Noah Kirshbaum, who pitched mostly in relief last season, will handle the pitching. Kirshbaum, who batted .300 in ‘90, will hit cleanup and play right field when not pitching. Junior Lester Echeverria, who missed the second half of last season because of a broken wrist, returns to the lineup at second base. OUTLOOK: Birmingham won the league title at both the varsity and junior-varsity levels last season and should continue to collect victories under Contreras. “If we can stay away from injuries, we’ll be in the thick of it,” Contreras said. “They’re used to winning now. They no longer consider themselves also-rans.”

Van Nuys COACH: Bill Gordon, 2nd season LAST SEASON: 5-12; 4th in league, 5-12 PLAYERS TO WATCH: Senior pitchers Tony Gonzalez (2-7) and Jayme Jimenez (3-4) return to the mound as starters and will split playing time at first base. Gordon believes sophomore right-hander Rusty Howard could emerge as a strong starter for the Wolves. Senior two-year starter Hector Alvarenga (.255) will play shortstop and bat leadoff, and cousin Alex Alvarenga, a sophomore, will catch. Junior Patrick Alvarado, who batted .276 last season, is back to play third, and sophomore Refugio Pulido has earned a starting berth at second. In the outfield, Jesus Enciso (.300) returns to left and speedy David Gomez to center. Javier Franco and Miguel Alvarez are competing for the right-field position. OUTLOOK: Gordon is optimistic about the team’s chances for a playoff berth but notes that mental blocks could sour the season. “Mental breakdowns are our biggest weakness,” Gordon said. “We tend to lose our concentration. But, truthfully, if they can keep their mind on things, they’ll be strong contenders.”

Monroe COACH: Kevin Campbell, 6th season LAST SEASON: 10-11; 2nd in league, 8-9 PLAYERS TO WATCH: Pitching sensation Sean Henson (2.77 earned-run average) has graduated, leaving it up to returning starters Chris Frith-Smith and Adrian Loverich to pick up the slack. Frith-Smith also will back up Mario Gonzalez in left, and Loverich also will play first. Junior Christian Ascencio, who led last year’s team with a .370 batting average, will move in from the outfield and play third base and bat second or third. Ascencio will split time with senior Mark Montelongo at third. Senior catcher Scott Riding, an all-league selection who batted .339 last season, returns behind the plate. Junior Bryan McComb is up from the junior varsity to play second, and Robert Perea will play shortstop. Marko Alvarado will bat first and patrol center field, and Wayne Winkler and Jason St. John will play in right. OUTLOOK: Campbell is somewhat concerned about the youth and inexperience of the team but believes the Vikings have improved overall. “Defensively, we’re a little more solid. We have more speed in the outfield,” Campbell said. “We’re young, but I think we are a step ahead defensively of where we were last year.”

Canoga Park COACH: Jim Smith, 3rd season LAST SEASON: 1-17; 4th in West Valley League, 1-16 PLAYERS TO WATCH: The only bright spot for the Hunters in last season’s one-win performance was a 2-0 victory against Cleveland. Smith is hoping this year’s move from the West Valley League to the Mid-Valley League will set the stage for a few more victories. Seven returning lettermen will help in that task. Scott Blemker will catch and also play first. Leo Roldan, a returning starter, will play second. Seniors Justin Blum (center field) and Greg Hurst (right field) are returning starters in the outfield. Sophomore Danny Baker, who batted .214 after being brought up from the junior varsity at midseason in ‘90, will start at shortstop and bat third. Baker, a right-hander, also will get the nod as a starting pitcher. David Krieder, a sophomore right-hander, will work in the pitching rotation and play in the infield. OUTLOOK: The Hunters do not have any returning pitchers or hitters who batted better than .214, so Canoga Park likely will have a tough go of it in the new league. “Hopefully we can field the ball well enough to keep us in some games,” Smith said. “I don’t see us coming in first, and I don’t have any high hopes of coming in second, either.”

East Valley League Poly COACH: Jerry Cord, 16th season LAST SEASON: 22-4; 1st in league, 17-0 PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Parrots lost a few valuable starters from last season, but the returning players are more than capable of defending the league title. Headlining the cast of standouts is Jonathan Campbell, who will move from left field to center for his senior year. Campbell batted .357 last year and had 23 runs batted in and 14 stolen bases. Junior Steve Chavez is back to catch for an experienced group of pitchers. Senior right-handers include Raul Torres and Jake Loveridge. Rodrigo Dorame, who had a 2.25 earned-run average in 31 innings, has had shoulder problems and might not throw until later in the season. The infield is a good mix of experienced juniors and seniors. Francisco Flores (.389) will play first base, Frankie Medina and Adulfo Rocha are competing for second, Marlon McKinney (.362) is at third and Torres and Dorame will split time at shortstop. OUTLOOK: Although Cord is not predicting another league title, he said that this season’s team has loads of talent. “If we can get some established pitching, this group could be as good, or better, than we’ve ever had,” Cord said. “But pitching is our big question mark. We’ve got a lot of No. 2 pitchers, but no one has stepped forward and said, ‘Give me the ball and get out of my way,’ yet.”

Sylmar COACH: Gary Donatella, 3rd season LAST SEASON: 16-10; 2nd in league, 10-7 PLAYERS TO WATCH: Right-handers James Encinas (6-4) and Jimmy Lemos (2-1) are back to throw for the Spartans, but Donatella believes that junior Jose Villafana might be a sleeper who will help Sylmar give Poly a run for the league title. Helping Sylmar offensively likely will be senior Dereck Ornelas, who finished in the City Section’s top six in batting average (.457), runs scored (33), doubles (12), triples (four), home runs (four), and runs batted in (28) last season. Ornelas, a speedy center fielder, also accumulated 11 stolen bases. Senior Terry Thorpe, junior P. J. Vela and sophomore Rene Navarro will help Ornelas in the outfield. Senior Robert Garcia, who played shortstop last season, will move over to third base this year. Garcia batted .400 last season with four doubles, four triples and 17 runs batted in. Sophomore Juan Flores earned a starting berth at shortstop. Ceasar Rajas will play second when Lemos is on the mound, and Encinas and Villafana will split time at first when they are not pitching. OUTLOOK: Donatella is reluctant to talk about beating out Poly for the East Valley League’s top spot, but Sylmar is the obvious challenger. “Our major goal is to make the playoffs,” Donatella said. “Poly’s pretty deep and they’re our biggest rival, but I don’t know how confident this team is yet.”

Grant COACH: Tom Lucero, 15th season LAST SEASON: 6-18; 4th in league, 4-13 PLAYERS TO WATCH: Grant had only two returning lettermen last season and struggled throughout the season. But this season the Lancers will have seven veterans, including right-handed pitchers Holvik Castro and Tony Kuper. Castro, a senior, will throw to senior catcher Gary Rosoff, a converted pitcher. Kuper, who owned a 1.97 ERA, will throw to Julio Rodriguez, a senior returning starter. Justin Howard, an all-league selection who hit .307, will bat third and play first base. Junior Nick Oriti is penciled in at shortstop. Brandon Long and Jose Velazquez will compete for second base, and Erik Morante and Jim Guth will vie for the starting nod at third. Patrolling the outfield will be Shane Williams in right and junior Peter Chong in center. Juan Velazquez and Ron Carver are competing for the left-field job. Junior Petur Georgesson, who hit .300 last year, is penciled in as designated-hitter. OUTLOOK: Lucero believes his pitching staff will give the Lancers an added edge and that the experience and improved team attitude should help win more games. “We’re going to get lots of base hits and have a lot of runners,” Lucero said. “That’s how we’re going to win games this year.”

North Hollywood COACH: Fred Grimes, 1st season LAST SEASON: 10-12; 3rd in league, 7-10 PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Huskies have only one returning starter and probably will have to work some magic in order to win a handful of games this season. On the mound will be senior right-handers Gerado Mendoza and Ruben Ayon, who are up from the junior varsity. The lone returning starter is senior Mike Lewis, an all-league third baseman. Lewis, who batted .375 in ‘90, will move to first. Senior Ivan Guillermo will play second. Of the 18 players on the team, six are sophomores and four of them have earned starting positions. Sophomore Eddie Gonzales will play third and Octavio Aguirre will be at shortstop. Junior Juan Cabrera and sophomore Rene Avelar are outfielders. Spliting time behind the plate will be juniors Ted Liotopoulos and Delbar Aguilar. OUTLOOK: Grimes knows he was not given a lot to work with in his first season as head coach and said that this is a rebuilding year in the truest sense of the meaning. Nothing would make Grimes happier than a .500 record. “I’d be elated (to play .500 ball),” Grimes said. “I’d be so excited, it would be absolutely unbelieveable.”

Teams listed in predicted order of finish