A 2012 Central Region Preview

Started by BigPoppa, June 01, 2011, 03:31:51 PM

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BigPoppa

Looking at what is coming back for each team and using a "complex" formula of 3, 2, 1 for all-regional teams for hitters and 4, 3, 2 for pitching (it is a little more important than hitting) here is what I have arrived at for an early look at the 2012 Central Region: (Note- so much can happen between now and February so this is just something to tide us over until then... it has been one day since the season ended and I am already lost).

1 IWU (9)
2/3 WashU/Coe(7)
4/5/6/7 Grinnell/Luther/Beloit/Wheaton (5)
8/9/10 North Park/UofChicago/Loras
11/12/13/14 Carthage/Webster/Buena Vista/Elmhurst
15 Monmouth

RETURNERS: (All-region team)
C:
Mike Nodzenski- Grinnell (1st)
AJ Nathan- IWU (3rd)
Stephen Williams- Chicago (3rd)

1B:
Kevin Callahan- IWU (1st)
Ross Donnan- Monmouth (3rd)

2B:
Chris Reynolds- Luther (1st)
Jonathon Erickson- IWU (3rd)

3B:
Jordan Jaenicke- Beloit (3rd)

SS:
Michael Goldfien- Grinnell (2nd)

OF:
Brandon Rogalski- WashU (1st) Regional Player of the Year
Nick Stein- Coe (1st)
Dave Wollak- Elmhurst (2nd)
Justin Zeller- Wheaton (2nd)
Jack Cinoman- Chicago (3rd)

UTL:
Trey Martin- Wheaton (1st)
Kyle Billig- WashU (2nd)

DH:
Bobby Czarnowski- IWU (3rd)

P:
Wade Morris- Coe (1st)
Alex Norman- Beloit (1st)
Kendall Paluch- Loras (2nd)
Nick Mehn- IWU (2nd)
Steve Kuligowski- North Park (2nd)
Stephan Bonser- WashU (3rd)
David Mueller- Webster (3rd)
James Stone- Buena Vista (3rd)
Augie Lindmark- Luther (3rd)
Danny Dahm- Carthage (3rd)
Baseball is not a game that builds character, it is a game that reveals it.

Mr. Ypsi

#1
+k for your efforts, Big Poppa.  Probably meaningless, but fun, nonetheless. ;)

To give further stress to non-IWU fans, first-team all-CCIW pitcher Joe Sweeney also returns. ;D  (He got off to a slow start, so his 6-5 overall record kept him off the all-region team, but in conference play he was 4-2, with a 2.53 era - including a no-hitter.)

Gregory Sager

Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on June 01, 2011, 04:01:49 PM
To give further stress to non-IWU fans, first-team all-CCIW pitcher Joe Sweeney also returns. ;D

Stress? Hardly. I'm just pleased that we won't be reading the "Dennis Martel rules the world, because he had to rebuild his entire team from scratch" song-and-dance from some of your fellow greenies next season. ;)
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

BigPoppa

I really like WashU next year... they could be a major player on the national scene.
Baseball is not a game that builds character, it is a game that reveals it.

Mr. Ypsi

Quote from: Gregory Sager on June 01, 2011, 04:20:01 PM
Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on June 01, 2011, 04:01:49 PM
To give further stress to non-IWU fans, first-team all-CCIW pitcher Joe Sweeney also returns. ;D

Stress? Hardly. I'm just pleased that we won't be reading the "Dennis Martel rules the world, because he had to rebuild his entire team from scratch" song-and-dance from some of your fellow greenies next season. ;)

Well, we ARE losing Jason (kiss your hopes goodbye) Pankau.  Woe is us! :o :D

In fairness, while I advocated Luke Johnson as sole-COY, co-COYs could certainly be a justifiable position.

Gregory Sager

Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on June 01, 2011, 05:25:31 PM
Quote from: Gregory Sager on June 01, 2011, 04:20:01 PM
Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on June 01, 2011, 04:01:49 PM
To give further stress to non-IWU fans, first-team all-CCIW pitcher Joe Sweeney also returns. ;D

Stress? Hardly. I'm just pleased that we won't be reading the "Dennis Martel rules the world, because he had to rebuild his entire team from scratch" song-and-dance from some of your fellow greenies next season. ;)

Well, we ARE losing Jason (kiss your hopes goodbye) Pankau.  Woe is us! :o :D

In fairness, while I advocated Luke Johnson as sole-COY, co-COYs could certainly be a justifiable position.

You certainly have the right to talk about anything you like, Chuck, but I gotta say that this topic is more worn out than the treads on a twenty-year-old Uniroyal.
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

Mr. Ypsi

Quote from: Gregory Sager on June 01, 2011, 05:31:02 PM
Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on June 01, 2011, 05:25:31 PM
Quote from: Gregory Sager on June 01, 2011, 04:20:01 PM
Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on June 01, 2011, 04:01:49 PM
To give further stress to non-IWU fans, first-team all-CCIW pitcher Joe Sweeney also returns. ;D

Stress? Hardly. I'm just pleased that we won't be reading the "Dennis Martel rules the world, because he had to rebuild his entire team from scratch" song-and-dance from some of your fellow greenies next season. ;)

Well, we ARE losing Jason (kiss your hopes goodbye) Pankau.  Woe is us! :o :D

In fairness, while I advocated Luke Johnson as sole-COY, co-COYs could certainly be a justifiable position.

You certainly have the right to talk about anything you like, Chuck, but I gotta say that this topic is more worn out than the treads on a twenty-year-old Uniroyal.

Now, Gregory, wasn't that a bit snarky to someone who mostly came out on YOUR side? :o ;D

Gregory Sager

I'm not trying to be snarky. I simply think that the CCIW COY discussion has run its course. Is there really anything new to add to the debate?
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

Mr. Ypsi

Probably not.  Just responding to your post.  While I agree that Johnson deserved it by himself, I don't think the co-COY position was unreasonable (in fact, I hoped for it, even though I neither expected it nor advocated it).

Gotta stick up for my fellow 'weenies' - I disagreed with their advocacy of Martel, but did not think they were out of line. ;)

hasbeen

Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on June 01, 2011, 07:00:01 PM
Probably not.  Just responding to your post.  While I agree that Johnson deserved it by himself, I don't think the co-COY position was unreasonable (in fact, I hoped for it, even though I neither expected it nor advocated it).

Gotta stick up for my fellow 'weenies' - I disagreed with their advocacy of Martel, but did not think they were out of line. ;)

GS, again, agree to disagree.  You have your opinion, and I will maintain mine.  There is significant evidence for both coaches.

I don't feel that you were being snarky...Snarky would be if I asked you if you wanted to kiss the IWU National Championship rings  ;)

Gregory Sager

Quote from: hasbeen on June 02, 2011, 09:19:54 AM
Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on June 01, 2011, 07:00:01 PM
Probably not.  Just responding to your post.  While I agree that Johnson deserved it by himself, I don't think the co-COY position was unreasonable (in fact, I hoped for it, even though I neither expected it nor advocated it).

Gotta stick up for my fellow 'weenies' - I disagreed with their advocacy of Martel, but did not think they were out of line. ;)

GS, again, agree to disagree.  You have your opinion, and I will maintain mine.  There is significant evidence for both coaches.

I don't feel that you were being snarky...Snarky would be if I asked you if you wanted to kiss the IWU National Championship rings  ;)

Agreed, just as it would be snarky if I responded by telling you just exactly what you could kiss in return. ;)
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

BigPoppa

Quote from: BigPoppa on June 01, 2011, 03:31:51 PM
Looking at what is coming back for each team and using a "complex" formula of 3, 2, 1 for all-regional teams for hitters and 4, 3, 2 for pitching (it is a little more important than hitting) here is what I have arrived at for an early look at the 2012 Central Region: (Note- so much can happen between now and February so this is just something to tide us over until then... it has been one day since the season ended and I am already lost).

1 IWU (9)
2/3 WashU/Coe(7)
4/5/6/7 Grinnell/Luther/Beloit/Wheaton (5)
8/9/10 North Park/UofChicago/Loras
11/12/13/14 Carthage/Webster/Buena Vista/Elmhurst
15 Monmouth

RETURNERS: (All-region team)
C:
Mike Nodzenski- Grinnell (1st)
AJ Nathan- IWU (3rd)
Stephen Williams- Chicago (3rd)

1B:
Kevin Callahan- IWU (1st)
Ross Donnan- Monmouth (3rd)

2B:
Chris Reynolds- Luther (1st)
Jonathon Erickson- IWU (3rd)

3B:
Jordan Jaenicke- Beloit (3rd)

SS:
Michael Goldfien- Grinnell (2nd)

OF:
Brandon Rogalski- WashU (1st) Regional Player of the Year
Nick Stein- Coe (1st)
Dave Wollak- Elmhurst (2nd)
Justin Zeller- Wheaton (2nd)
Jack Cinoman- Chicago (3rd)

UTL:
Trey Martin- Wheaton (1st)
Kyle Billig- WashU (2nd)

DH:
Bobby Czarnowski- IWU (3rd)

P:
Wade Morris- Coe (1st)
Alex Norman- Beloit (1st)
Kendall Paluch- Loras (2nd)
Nick Mehn- IWU (2nd)
Steve Kuligowski- North Park (2nd)
Stephan Bonser- WashU (3rd)
David Mueller- Webster (3rd)
James Stone- Buena Vista (3rd)
Augie Lindmark- Luther (3rd)
Danny Dahm- Carthage (3rd)

Am I way off on my early predictions? What does everyone else think will be the top ten teams in the Central Region?
Baseball is not a game that builds character, it is a game that reveals it.

CCIWFAN6

Personally, I am a lot less optimistic for the Titans this year, BP, than your formula would indicate. If there was a major weekness of IWU last year, it was their inability to get quality pitching after Pankau left the mound.  Their BA against, excluding Jason, was .311 as a team.  That is not incredibly impressive.  I think they can win between 25-29 games because I believe this team will be able to score runs, in terms of being a serious regional contender, I do not see it unless some of their arms take a giant leap forward.

BigPoppa

My early look at ranking the Central Region's top teams for 2012. I went out on a limb a bit this year, but I really like North Park and WashU. Thoughts? How'd I do?

1.   North Park- The Vikes return 24 wins on the mound and all of their saves from a very solid 2011 squad. They have constantly hung around the top-tier of CCIW teams since Luke Johnson's arrival and I see this as they year it finally comes together for North Park. They tied for the regular season CCIW title last year and return a boatload of talented and versatile players.

2.   Washington University (WashU)- return Central Region Player of the Year, Brandon Rogalski, second team all region UTL Kyle Billig, and third team all region P Stephan Bonser. A full season of recruiting and off-season programs under coach Steve Duncan is only going to solidify what I think is a team that is on the verge of a national breakthrough.

3.   Carthage- The Redmen return most of their pitching staff from a team that was very young on the mound last year. They also return all-region P Danny Dahm as well as 1B Joey Aiello, in addition a very productive gang of outfielders that battled for time last year and will finally get their shot after some graduations.

4.   Buena Vista- I know many people are very high on BV this year, but I am not certain they can replace all that they lost to graduation. They lost their #1 pitcher, catcher, shortstop and closer. Those are four positions that are leaned on heavily as the games wear on. I'll be surprised if they find replacements as talented as the four they lost. Third team All- region P James Stone returns to anchor their pitching staff.

5.   Webster- returns entire starting pitching staff. This bodes well for a team that has pounded the SLIAC opponents for the past few seasons and should put them back in position to do some damage in the NCAA post-season. They are traditionally hamstrung by the weak SoS that the SLIAC provides so how they fare in non-league games vs St. Norbert, Hendrix, Wheaton, Ripon, and WashU may determine their fate if they stumble in the SLIAC tourney. It may be left to all-region arm David Mueller to try to knock off a few regional big dogs in the process to bolster their SoS.

6.   Illinois Wesleyan- They really need to find some pitching to match their potent offense this year. They return four all–region players in Kevin Callahan, Bobby Czarnowski, AJ Nathan and Jonathon Erickson as well as All-region P Nick Mehn. Still, they have very little depth on the mound to back the run-scoring offense they will trot out on a daily basis. That is a recipe for disaster at tourney time.

7.   Coe- P Wade Morris (1st team all-regional) and OF Nick Stein (1st team all-region) anchor a team that could be the surprise of the region. If they can find production from other players and pitchers, they could be a team to contend with this season.

On the outside looking in at the top-tier: North Central, Augustana, Luther, St. Norbert, Ripon.  I think all five of these teams are close but need to be much more consistent than they have been in the past if they want to jump from the middle-tier of the region to the top-tier.
Baseball is not a game that builds character, it is a game that reveals it.

BBFan62

Quote from: BigPoppa on January 04, 2012, 02:18:11 PM
My early look at ranking the Central Region's top teams for 2012. I went out on a limb a bit this year, but I really like North Park and WashU. Thoughts? How'd I do?

1.   North Park- The Vikes return 24 wins on the mound and all of their saves from a very solid 2011 squad. They have constantly hung around the top-tier of CCIW teams since Luke Johnson's arrival and I see this as they year it finally comes together for North Park. They tied for the regular season CCIW title last year and return a boatload of talented and versatile players.

2.   Washington University (WashU)- return Central Region Player of the Year, Brandon Rogalski, second team all region UTL Kyle Billig, and third team all region P Stephan Bonser. A full season of recruiting and off-season programs under coach Steve Duncan is only going to solidify what I think is a team that is on the verge of a national breakthrough.

3.   Carthage- The Redmen return most of their pitching staff from a team that was very young on the mound last year. They also return all-region P Danny Dahm as well as 1B Joey Aiello, in addition a very productive gang of outfielders that battled for time last year and will finally get their shot after some graduations.

4.   Buena Vista- I know many people are very high on BV this year, but I am not certain they can replace all that they lost to graduation. They lost their #1 pitcher, catcher, shortstop and closer. Those are four positions that are leaned on heavily as the games wear on. I'll be surprised if they find replacements as talented as the four they lost. Third team All- region P James Stone returns to anchor their pitching staff.

5.   Webster- returns entire starting pitching staff. This bodes well for a team that has pounded the SLIAC opponents for the past few seasons and should put them back in position to do some damage in the NCAA post-season. They are traditionally hamstrung by the weak SoS that the SLIAC provides so how they fare in non-league games vs St. Norbert, Hendrix, Wheaton, Ripon, and WashU may determine their fate if they stumble in the SLIAC tourney. It may be left to all-region arm David Mueller to try to knock off a few regional big dogs in the process to bolster their SoS.

6.   Illinois Wesleyan- They really need to find some pitching to match their potent offense this year. They return four all–region players in Kevin Callahan, Bobby Czarnowski, AJ Nathan and Jonathon Erickson as well as All-region P Nick Mehn. Still, they have very little depth on the mound to back the run-scoring offense they will trot out on a daily basis. That is a recipe for disaster at tourney time.

7.   Coe- P Wade Morris (1st team all-regional) and OF Nick Stein (1st team all-region) anchor a team that could be the surprise of the region. If they can find production from other players and pitchers, they could be a team to contend with this season.

On the outside looking in at the top-tier: North Central, Augustana, Luther, St. Norbert, Ripon.  I think all five of these teams are close but need to be much more consistent than they have been in the past if they want to jump from the middle-tier of the region to the top-tier.

BigPoppa,
Nice analysis. WashU will be a threat; I'll know better when we face them at the UAA tourney in Florida. Unfortunately for our guys, they'll be our first game of the year while we will be their 12th. Seems like we're in for a bruising.

The only other team I can comment on is IWU, and really, only 4 of the players. I've had the enjoyment of watching AJ Nathan since he was 8 years old and playing alongside Anthony Kopp and also Kevin Sullivan. All 3, especially AJ, will be a force this year. IWU also picked up a strong (literally and figuratively) player in Josh Levy, a transfer from Heartland. Levy played against Nathan, Kopp, and Sullivan in high school and played with my son on a top travel team, the Norwood Blues. My son also played at Highland Park with the 3 amigos. Levy has a cannon for an arm and can easily top 90, except nobody in the entire stadium would be safe, because he just cannot control it. However, he did not pitch, but played catcher and the outfield. Levy is a real class act; a great guy. He also makes a great DH as he can flat out hit. I am going to enjoy checking in on Wesleyan and watching these 4 guys.