St. John's Baseball...

Maybe I root for the wrong sport at St. John's? Read on froma story earlier this week:

For St. John’s, Home Is Where the Talent Is

By ZACHARY BRAZILLER
In a sport dominated by teams based in warmer climates, the St. John’s baseball program is an anomaly. The Red Storm has become a consistent winner in the Northeast by relying largely on local players from what is considered by many scouts to be a shallow talent pool.

At No. 18 in Baseball America’s latest top-25 poll, St. John’s is the lone East Coast team north of the Carolinas that is nationally ranked.

Led by Coach Ed Blankmeyer, who has compiled a winning percentage above .600 since taking over in 1996, the Red Storm has won all eight of its three-game series against Big East opponents this season. Entering its final regular-season series on Thursday at Villanova, St. John’s (39-11, 18-6) is on the verge of its fourth N.C.A.A. Division I baseball tournament berth in five years. One more victory would give the Red Storm a program-record fourth consecutive 40-win season.

The team does not typically attract blue-chip prospects. What the underclassmen lack in natural talent upon arrival, Blankmeyer said, they make up for with hard work. Two senior starters — the power-hitting Chris Anninos, who has 11 home runs, and Jeff Grantham, who leads the team with a .366 batting average — went from walk-ons to cornerstones.

“That’s one of the strengths of our program,” Blankmeyer said.

He has built the program with pitching and defense. Three years ago, six of his players were drafted, including Craig Hansen, the university’s career saves leader with 26. He was a first-round selection by the Boston Red Sox and is now on their active roster, one of 40 professional players Blankmeyer has developed at St. John’s.

Several of this season’s top pitchers for the Red Storm could be selected in the June draft. Among them is the staff ace, Scott Barnes, a hard-throwing junior left-hander who is considered the Red Storm’s top prospect. Others include the senior George Brown, who leads the Big East with nine wins and has walked only eight batters in 79 2/3 innings; the 6-foot-6 right-hander Jared Yecker; the junior closer Colin Lynch, who has 24 career saves; and the junior reliever Justin Gutsie.

“They have as much pitching as any team in the top 25,” said Aaron Fitt, a college analyst for Baseball America.

The Red Storm’s lineup is strong, if not as lethal as its pitching staff. Six players have compiled hitting streaks of at least 10 games. The offense started slowly but has averaged 7.5 runs a game since April 12. In that stretch, the team has won 16 of 19 games.

All of the winning in recent seasons has made St. John’s a destination for local prospects. Of the 33 players on the roster, 18 are from New York, Connecticut or New Jersey.

“We want the best kids in the area to stay home,” Blankmeyer said. “They know the area, and they have pride in New York.”

Among the offensive leaders are the freshman cleanup hitter Paul Karmas, who played at St. Francis Prep in Queens and has produced a team-high 36 runs batted in, and the sophomore outfielder Brian Kemp, who played at Chaminade on Long Island and is batting .364. The incoming freshman class is headed by four promising pitchers from Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.

The Division I baseball committee is considering a bid by St. John’s to host a regional. Depending on how the St. John’s fares in the Big East tournament, it could be chosen as the first Northeast program to host a regional since Rutgers in 2000.

“They’ve got a great case,” said Larry Templeton, Mississippi State’s athletic director and the baseball committee chairman.

For all of its success, St. John’s is still a prisoner of its locale. Poor weather often forces the team to stay inside or to play in less than ideal conditions, including snow and rain. On one bitter day, Anninos said, the baseball field was unavailable and work was being done on the other outdoor spaces. So the team practiced on a parking lot.

“Any skin exposed,” Anninos said, “you would probably get frostbite.”

The program has its doubters. Fitt said he had received hundreds of e-mail messages at Baseball America from fans of traditional powers who question the Red Storm’s legitimacy among the country’s elite. Some point to the program’s lack of postseason success. The Red Storm has won one Big East tournament title under Blankmeyer and has yet to win an N.C.A.A. regional.

Nonetheless, the team has a step-by-step guide of goals this spring: secure the top seed in the Big East tournament, win the tournament, advance through an N.C.A.A. regional and survive a super regional.

Is it too much to ask? Not according to Barnes, who has struck out 76 batters in 71 1/3 innings.

“We don’t fear anybody we face,” he said.