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Beginning of season, everyone gets along fine. Coach has team meeting to say what playing time will be based on, and that not everyone will play evenly because it is a varsity sport. Games start, coach picks his lineup, parents grumble because their kid isn’t playing enough. Eventually, the situation becomes untenable and the kid quits not only the team, but the sport he once loved forever. From a coach’s standpoint, I always try to make it clear how important the players who don’t play much to the team in other ways: team morale, leadership, and intensity in practice, among others. This isn’t just talking, although sadly sometimes it comes off that way.

There are very few coaches - despite the sometimes common wisdom otherwise - who don’t play the lineup (or pick a team) that they think gives them the best chance to win. Are they always right? Of course not, Can different coaches see the same player differently? Absolutely but at the end of the day, the coach was put in the position to make that tough call. Some handle it better than others, but it always essentially comes down to the same thing.

In baseball, the problem is even worse than it is in other sports. As my high school coach said repeatedly, “Baseball is not a substitute sport.” And it’s not. You don’t take Derek Jeter out for an inning or two for a rest and put him back in. High school has a re-entry rule which helps, but not that much. Last season, North Haven baseball coach Bob Demayo - the most successful coach in Connecticut high school history - faced the same choices everyone else does. The Indians began the season with junior Brett Bradanini as their catcher, but a few games into the season, Demayo decided it was time for a change. It wasn’t an easy decision, even for the usually unflappable Demayo, who has been North Haven’s coach since 1959 (this is his 50th season). Bradanini’s father, Jim, was his long-time assistant, his right-hand man, and a big part of his success.

Toward the middle of last season, I went to see North Haven play and the Bradaninis were no longer there. Brett had quit, I was told, and his father didn’t want to be around, either. My heart sank. And the Indians sank, too. North Haven lost four of its final six games and didn’t qualify for the SCC Tournament for the first time in eight years.

But my feelings had nothing to do with the success of North Haven, or the fact that another kid had seemingly taken the easy way out. You see, I was fortunate enough - way back in 2002 - to know Brett Bradanini as a student-teacher in North Haven. Brett was the type of kid whom you had to love: he always worked hard in class, always had a positive attitude, and - most importantly - was always respectful and courteous to his teachers and classmates.

Whenever I ran into teachers from North Haven that knew Brett, I never heard a discouraging word. Brett was still Brett, they said. Whenever I happened to run into him in my travels, he would greet me with a firm handshake and ask how I was doing. There was talk Brett might transfer, and I figured that was the end of the story. But, I noticed during basketball season that Brett was still at North Haven High, and lo and behold two games into the 2008 baseball season, Brett Bradanini got a pinch-hit single and scored the winning run against East Haven. Two games later, Bradanini got headlines as he sparked North Haven to a much-needed win over Career. Quite simply, it made my day.

Not so much because he was successful, but because he had stuck it out. He might not be playing as much as he liked, but he had made a decision that I wish more people would. He was still chirping, still pushing his teammates on, still giving his all.

Bradanini got the start at catcher last Friday morning against Foran, a fairly awful day for the Indians, as they were blown out, 11-0. “I thought about transferring, but basically, I just wanted to graduate with my friends,” he said. “I figured that was more important at this point.”

It’s been a struggle for Demayo and the Indians this season, which fell to 3-5 with the loss and faced Notre Dame, Amity, Xavier, and Guilford in their next four games. There is a chance they may miss the state tournament for the first time in ages. Bradanini was the only senior who was dressed for the Foran game. “I just try to stay optimistic and teach them as we go,” he said. “That’s all we can do is stay positive.” Then his eyes lit up in typical Brett fashion when he talked about his first at-bat of the day, a strikeout when the home plate umpire decided Brett’s half-swing on a low ball had gone too far. He was still adamant he hadn’t swung; I told him it was close, but maybe the home plate umpire should have at least checked with the base umpire. “Ah, that’s just the way it goes sometimes, I guess,” Brett said. Absolutely right.

BACK TO THE PACK?: It may be more indicative of how high Amity was the last few seasons than how much they have fallen this year that is was even news when Amity lost its second game of the season Wednesday against Sheehan.

It was only the Spartans’ second Housatonic Division loss in five years, but for mere mortal teams, it probably wouldn’t have worth batting an eye. Perhaps the most concerning thing for Amity is that its powerful lineup managed only one run against the Titans, but surely there’s no cause for panic in Spartan Nation. In fact, Amity rebounded to beat Notre Dame, 5-3, on Friday to move to a fairly impressive 6-2, at least for most teams.

It probably won’t be surprising if Amity lost two or three more games as the season progresses, as this season’s race for the SCC title appears to have many contenders. Xavier lost a game last week, but looks to be the class of the Quinnipiac Division, and they’ve obviously already defeated Amity in 2008. As I talked about last week,

Branford looks very dangerous in the Oronoque Division, while defending champion Guilford, despite having some injury woes (star pitcher and last year’s SCC Player of the Year Will Jolin is out for at least a couple of weeks with a sore shoulder and will probably have to take it slow when he does come back, while shortstop Sam Greenburg just returned from an injury) has to be mentioned.

Upstarts East Haven, Shelton, and Notre Dame also appear to be able to take anyone down on a given day. With the way pitchers are rotated and the competitiveness of the teams, let’s lay off calling every result where a team with a worse record wins an upset, shall we?

AROUND THE HORN: Evidently, jetlag does not bode well with pitchers, as East Haven and North Branford had a slugfest in at sunny Disney World in Orlando last Thursday. The good news for the Yellow Jackets is that they prevailed, 15-10 behind four RBIs each from Fran Belevich and Anthony Spadacenta. East Haven is a quiet 4-2 with a lot of winnable games ahead …

North Haven and Derby went eight more innings last Tuesday after their game on April 11 was suspended after seven innings with the game tied 2-2. Derby finally prevailed 3-2 in 15 innings, the longest game in SCC history …

The weather was nearly perfect for the vacation week, allowing almost every team to catch up in their scheduling. It looks like that may continue through this week as well. How about that? …

The innings may have caught up with Derby a little bit as it allowed 36 runs in its next two games, falling 14-5 to Career and 22-3 to Cheshire. If you‘re a long-time reader of this column, you may remember the “What Happens When Pitching Runs Out“ column from a few years back …

Hand was a little angry after some early-season struggles, they‘ve not only won four straight, but scored 45 runs in the process, making them a factor in the Hammonasset Division …

It‘s been a mighty struggle for Fairfield Prep, who went winless last week to fall to 1-8 on the season. The Jesuits gave up 26 runs in back-to-back losses to Sheehan and West Haven last week …

Poor Jonathan Law is back to the No. 1 schedule this year, with Amity, Xavier, and Sheehan in its next three games.

GAME OF THE WEEK

East Haven at Jonathan Law, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. - This will be the second of two games for the Yellow Jackets on Saturday with Wilbur Cross in the morning, but this is a big game for both teams who want to elevate themselves from the middle of the pack to the SCC Tournament. Law may need this game a little bit more, its schedule is somewhat tougher and they may need it at the end of the season.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Jason Esposito, Amity - This may be more of a cumulative award for the entire season, as Esposito with the college pressure off (he‘s headed to Vanderbilt), has crushed the ball this season, leading the SCC with four home runs, despite not playing in a small ballpark. He‘s also the closer with three saves, and picked up his first win of the season against Notre Dame last Friday.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 15

Not only the number of innings North Haven and Derby played in a game that lasted four days, but also the number of innings North Haven‘s Steve Vermiglio pitched in the game. Normally, rules limit pitchers to 9 innings every 3 days, but because the game was suspended, Vermiglio was allowed to post a record that may never be broken. The game broke the old SCC record for longest game (13 innings) which was set on May 5, 1997 as North Haven beat Fairfield Prep (thanks to SCC Commissioner Al Carbone for the fact checking). Ultimately, though, Vermiglio‘s efforts went for naught, he was the losing pitcher when Derby scored the winning run in the 15th inning.

POWER RANKINGS

1) Xavier (7-1; Last Week 1) – One loss not enough to dump the Falcons from the top spot here.

2) Branford (7-1; LW 3) – Almost stumbled against Derby, but rebounded with win over Guilford.

3) Amity (6-2; LW 2) – Seeding will be hurt by occasional loss, but still a big-time title threat.

4) Guilford (6-2; LW 4) – Indians out to prove they‘re not just a one-man team until he comes back.

5) Shelton (6-2; LW 5) – Could really be 8-0 and at the top here with a couple of big plays.

6) Sheehan (5-3; LW 13) – Now the Titans are moving, one more big week could see them even higher.

7) East Haven (4-2; LW 9) – Only one game last week and had to travel more than 1,000 miles to play.

8) Hand (4-3; LW 11) – No real powerful scalps, but you get the feeling the potential is there.

9) Notre Dame (5-3; LW 6) – “Xavier and Amity looming“. Couldn’t really deal with either of them.

10) Jonathan Law (3-3; LW 7) – Going to be tough for Lawmen if they can‘t find a way to score runs.

11) West Haven (6-3; LW 10) – Scored 30 runs in two wins last week, could be a spoiler for big boys.

12) Foran (4-4; LW 15) – Sophomore Ward looking very impressive on the mound for Lions.

13) Career (4-3; LW 12) – Rest time over for Panthers, but they‘re capable if things fall correctly.

14) North Haven (3-5; LW 8) – Brutal week, and it doesn‘t look to be promising soon for Indians.

15) Hamden (3-6; LW 18) – Dragons now have some hope that they can get to magical eight win mark.

16) Cheshire (2-6; LW 17) – 22 runs against Derby was nice, but not too many wins to surround it.

17) Lyman Hall (2-5; LW 14) – Hung around in all their games last week, but no victories.

18) Fairfield Prep (1-8; LW 16) – At this rate, will be first SCC team eliminated from postseason.

19) Derby (3-5; LW 19) – Last two losses a little disconcerting, but still time for some optimism.

20) Hillhouse (2-7; LW 21) – Can they pull out a win or two more before the close of 2008?

21) Wilbur Cross (0-8; LW 20) – Somehow snuck a game against Ellington in there, but still no wins.