NCAA College Baseball thread 2010

[hoyaalf]

Well, it seems the less important considerations are worthy of discussion.

[hifigator]

Tiger wrote:

If you ever get a chance go to some summer league games for College. Cape Cod League is the original but there is now the Coastal Plain League in the Southeast, and the Ripken Senior League and one other one in the Mid Atlantic. My boss is involved with the Rockville team in the Ripken League and there was a Clemson pitcher playing for one of the Baltimore teams in that league.

They are wooden bat leagues with college players.

I have only followed the weekend games consistently for Clemson this year, and the starting QB for the football team is having another great year at the plate. They used him a lot as DH last year when he was learning offense at spring football practice - and he may be doing that again this year.

Rumor is now he may even end up going so high in the draft that Clemson might lose him for football in the fall. The last time that happened I think was a starting punter for the football team by the name of Bill Spiers that played for the Brewers.

I don't know anything about the Coastal Plain League, but I might try to catch a couple of games somewhere this summer. Also, the Cape Cod league you mention, is sort of viewed as the cream of the crop. As you suggest, I don't know how true that still is, but in any case, that is where you want your guys to go to keep learn and keep their skills sharp.

As for your dual sport star, he's actually getting some press down here. Just yesterday afternoon, the featured topic was dual sport stars, in light of some kid we are strongly recruiting for next year's class. Either way, your kid got mentioned by several callers.

[SFHoya99]

There are actually some JC leagues that play in-season with wood.

I find it odd big time athletic programs can't afford wood and many JC programs (granted, baseball factories) can.

Cape Cod is still the creme de la creme, but it is changing. As more of them pop up, more people will choose to go to places likely closer to home or college.

[hifigator]

Apr 9, 2010 15:21:44 GMT -5 SFHoya99 said:

There are actually some JC leagues that play in-season with wood.

I find it odd big time athletic programs can't afford wood and many JC programs (granted, baseball factories) can.

Cape Cod is still the creme de la creme, but it is changing. As more of them pop up, more people will choose to go to places likely closer to home or college.

I don't mean to be too critical, but I think you definitely oversimplify the issue. The question isn't whether the "big time athletic programs" can afford the wooden bat, but rather whether the rest of the programs could. Personally, I think that it shouldn't be that hard to create some sort of universal fund for the bats. Yes, I know that as a libertarian, such a seemingly socialistic approach looks hypocritical. But I don't think it is. The key isn't "mandatory" but rather voluntary. I don't think that it would be that hard to get enough "sponsors" on board -- Louisville Slugger back in the day, but vastly more now -- as well as enough players who will effectively fund the program.

Look at it this way:

Last year, there were 40 players per team maximum, with most conferences using a 25 man roster (or so).

Abstracting away from any idiosyncratic anamolies, let's assume -- at least to err on the side of a max cost -- that each spot in the batting order will "exhaust" 3 bats per game. While some spots will certainly do "more damage," I sincerely doubt that as a whole, many teams will do more damage, and certainly, many will do less. In any case, if each spot in the lineup goes through 3 bats per game, that would be 27 "broken" bats per game, per team. Multiply the 27 bats (per game) by the 56 games (regular season) and you get 1512 "used" bats per program. I honestly think that the real number would be less, provided we limit wood bats to "live" game ABs. But presuming the 1512 number is roughly correct, and presuming that the "retail" price of "59.99" is still accurate, then ... at least off the top of my head ... there would be a "cost" of something like $200,000 per team. Again, I think that is an incredibly high number, but I am trying to err on that side. Furthermore, that retail price, is certainly not what would be charged ... at least, unless Alexander Haig isn't in charge. (Note to all: I say that as a more conservative individual than the alternative.)

Without going on any further, my point is that I don't think it would be that difficult to have players agree to a commitment of a comparatively paltry amount in unison, which would ultimately more than cover this expense. Yes, I know that I am opening the door for the "two hundred thousand here ... two hundred thousand there and eventually it adds up to real money" arguments.

Again, I intentionally choose very extreme numbers AGAINST my idea, and I still think it would work. But I digress ...

[hifigator]

I didn't finish the thought:

In addition to any discounts that would obviously be given, the "game used" bats could also be used to defer any costs. Obviously, this would be easier at the larger/more prestigious programs, but ... and again, I hate to sound like a socialist, but I think that in this case, there wouldn't be a problem using specifically designated revenues to fund specifically designated costs .... (crouching under heavy table awaiting lightning)

[hifigator]

For the 3 of us who might actually care, the season is winding down. This is the last weekend of the regular season and then most conference tourneys are next week, Memorial Day weekend. The regionals are the first weekend in June, with the Super-Regionals to follow. The 8 survivors advance to Omaha for the last College World Series at storied Rosenblatt Stadium, beginning June 19th. The event will still be in Omaha for at least another 10 years or so, but I think they are building a new venue.

For those who haven't been paying attention, Virginia, Texas, Arizona St. and the winner of the Florida-South Carolina series this weekend are virtual locks for top 8 National seeds. The loser of the UF-USCe is also likely to get a National seed as well. Coastal Carolina, Georgia Tech and Louisville are also in very good position to earn a seed with a strong finish. The 8th seed is totally up for grabs with Arkansas, Miami, FSU and TCU likely candidates.

I'm sure you all are thrilled.

[SFHoya99]

Your math is awful. No team would go through a bat an out. It wouldn't cost $60 in bulk. And you wouldn't need every conference to go to it.

But if a school can afford millions in scholarship money, field maintenance, coaching, etc., they can go to wood bats.

[theexorcist]

1. The idea I've always had for wood bats is that MLB makes donations, based on the theory that wood bats lead to scouts getting a better idea of who's going to succeed and who's not.

2. ESPN does a great college baseball column with Baseball America. I love how more teams may make the NCAAs than make conference tourneys in the power ones - espn.go.com/ncaa/blog/_/name/ncaa_baseball/id/5194383/what-do-sec

[hifigator]

SF, I thought it was pretty clear that I was trying to error on the side of expense. I was bending over backwards to make sure that my numbers would exceed what the actual costs would be. Maybe that wasn't clear, but that was the whole point.

As for the game in general, the newer composite bats have helped the game mirror the traditional game. But while these changes have cut down on ridiculous scoring, they can't do anything about the inside pitch. That'r really the biggest difference.

[hifigator]

SF, I have no idea what study was used or how controled the constraints were on the test, but there was a guest interviewed yesterday who was asked about wooden bats. For the record, he was a big advocate of using them. The number he used as far as baseballs was 68 in a "typical" game. I have no idea what level of competition he was talking about, but college I am guessing. In any case, he was using this number as an illustration of the cost analysis for baseball -- comparing relative expenses of balls to bats. His conclusion was that it wasn't an undue of catastrophic burdon on programs and ulitmately that college programs would not have any problem meeting the costs connected to going with wooden bats. Again, I don't know how accurate his numbers are, but I'm glad to hear his conclusion. While I do, in an almost morbid way, admire the "ping" of aluminum bats, I can't deny the impact on the game. Most importantly, the counterproductive force that it has on the sport I love.

That being said, the post-season is upon us.

The following teams were given National Seeds, guaranteeing that the road to Omaha will travel through their own stadiums:

Az. State
Texas
Florida
Coastal Carolina
Virginia
UCLA
Louisville
Georgia Tech

The following teams were also selected to host:

Miami
Arkansas
South Carolina
Connecticut
Oklahoma
Auburn
TCU
Cal St. Fullerton/Fullerton St.

There is one slight oddity: FSU was given the #1 seed, but sent to Connecticut who is the #2 seed. For anyone who cares, that bracket is paired with the Louisville regional.

[hifigator]

The seedings pretty much held up in the first day of postseason action. I think the only #1 seed to lose was Fullerton St. There were a few #3 seeds to "upset" 2 seeds, but nothing I would consider too much of a surprise. Even the Citadel beating Va. Tech wasn't a surprise to me. Citadel was a top 10 RPI halfway through the season. They had a couple of injuries but have rebounded nicely and it wouldn't be total shock if they were to advance to the Supers next week.

There are a lot of big games today, as usual. Many of them pair up SEC and Pac 10 or SEC and ACC teams. I think the SEC was 8-0 yesterday and the Pac 10 and ACC were each 6-2.
But today will be "moving day" so to speak, and use a golf expression. The teams that come out of today at 2-0 have a really big advantage tomorrow, and advance at a ridiculous percentage.

Here are a couple of the key games to watch:

Miami vs. Tx A&M
LSU vs. UCLA
Auburn vs. Clemson

and yes, of course the first real gut wrenching game for yours truly of the year,

Oregon St. vs. Florida

Let's go Gators!

[EasyEd]

hifi, how many posts on this subject are you going to put up?

[hifigator]

easy, I know there's only a handful of us who care about college baseball, it's still a legitimate topic, albeit one with a very cultic following. Of possible interest to some of you, yesterday St. Johns came back to upset Virginia, and force a deciding game today. Fighting out of the loser's bracket, the Johnies who trailed 5-4 for quite a while, ended up winning, 6-5.

These are other regionals to be decided today:

Auburn and Clemson
Miami and Tx. A&M
Louisville and Vanderbilt
Coastal Carolina and College of Charleston
Georgia Tech and Alabama
Arkansas and Washington St.

[AustinHoya03]

Jun 7, 2010 11:13:11 GMT -5 hifigator said:

easy, I know there's only a handful of us who care about college baseball, it's still a legitimate topic, albeit one with a very cultic following. Of possible interest to some of you, yesterday St. Johns came back to upset Virginia, and force a deciding game today. Fighting out of the loser's bracket, the Johnies who trailed 5-4 for quite a while, ended up winning, 6-5.

These are other regionals to be decided today:

Auburn and Clemson
Miami and Tx. A&M
Louisville and Vanderbilt
Coastal Carolina and College of Charleston
Georgia Tech and Alabama
Arkansas and Washington St.

I know that regionals outside the Southeast aren't really on your radar screen, but you forgot to mention the most compelling regional final. Fourth-seeded Minnesota has a chance to knock off #1 seed Cal State-Fullerton at 11 PM EST tonight. The Gophers beat the Titans on Friday, and Fullerton avoided elimination by returning the favor last night.

Minnesota is the only B10 team in the bracket, and received a #4 seed despite earning its conference's regular-season and tournament titles.

[hifigator]

Austin, in all honesty, that had nothing to do with my listings. I listed all of the elimination games that made it into our paper. There were a handful that were "late," and I didn't want to try to go from memory on what I thought I saw. But you are certainly correct. In addition to the Cal-St. Fulletrton -- Minnesota matchup, these matchups were "late," with a possibility of a deciding game today:

Oklahoma vs. UNC
UCLA vs UC Irvine
TCU vs. Baylor

[hifigator]

Austin wrote:

I know that regionals outside the Southeast aren't really on your radar screen, but you forgot to mention the most compelling regional final. Fourth-seeded Minnesota has a chance to knock off #1 seed Cal State-Fullerton at 11 PM EST tonight. The Gophers beat the Titans on Friday, and Fullerton avoided elimination by returning the favor last night.

Minnesota is the only B10 team in the bracket, and received a #4 seed despite earning its conference's regular-season and tournament titles.

I agree that the Minnesota matchup with CS Fullerton is intriguing -- made even moreso by the "anemic" big ten all season. But I think you could argue that at least 3 regional finals are "more compelling" in Ga Tech -- Alabama, Louisville vs. Vandy and Coastal Carolina vs. Coll. of Charleston because those feature 3 teams that were not only #1 seeds, but National Seeds. Ga Tech, Louisville and Coastal are all protected seeds, but face a win or stay home game today.

What sucks for me is that I like to pull for the conference in such matchups, but with FSU winning their cakewalk of a regional in Connecticut, if Vandy should beat Louisville, then FSU gets to host the super, whereas they would have to travel to Louisville. As someone who can never want anything good for FSU, I guess I have to be a fan of the Cardinals tonight. Sorry Vandy ...

[hifigator]

Most of the field is set:

The following National seeds have all punched their tickets to Omaha
#1 Arizona State
#3 Florida
#6 UCLA

Also, South Carolina earned their way by knocking off Natioal Seed #4 in Coastal Carolina, But the biggest upset thusfar, at least on paper, goes to the Horned Frogs of TCU, who earned their way by knoicing off the Natonal #2 seed, in Texas. Florida State also secured their spot in Omaha by holding off the Vanderbilt in 3 highly contested games.

The final two spots will be decided today. Alabama battles Clemson and Virginia takes on Oklahoma. This post season has alredy been great, filled with excitement and unlikely heros, and epitomizes why I consider College baseball the best sport there is.

For those who maybe don't typically watch baseball -- at least at the collegiate level, I encourage you to watch the two games today at 1pm and 7pm. Much like the added excitement of playoff hockey only made all the more exciting in a game 7, these advance or have your season ended types of game only add to the excitement as well...

[hoyarooter]

Florida and UCLA will be no worse than the second and fourth seeded teams in the CWS, but will be facing each other in the first round. So I guess it's on, hifi.

[hoyarooter]

UCLA 11
Florida 3

Gator hurlers aid the cause with four wild pitches.

[AustinHoya03]

Florida lost to Florida State last night 8-5, making the Gators the first team eliminated from this year's CWS.