BB: Just Some Guy's West Region Rankings

Started by Just_Some_Guy, February 20, 2007, 11:09:24 PM

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Chapman vs Linfield

Chapman splits 4 games with Linfield
2 (40%)
Linfield sweeps
1 (20%)
Chapman sweeps
0 (0%)
Linfield takes 3 of 4
0 (0%)
Chapman takes 3 of 4
2 (40%)

Total Members Voted: 5

infielddad

J_S_G:
To provide a little support for Cal State East Bay.
Their losses include one to Division I San Jose State 9-3.  SJS is very good this year and that game was competitive.
Another loss was to Division II San Francisco State which would be a very strong DIII squad.  They also beat them twice.
While I did not, my son saw them at Menlo College.
His description was "they mash."  He really liked their hitters and their approach.  From the game he watched, he felt they compared well with their 2004 Regional team.

Browneagle64

Hey J.S.G,

May I add Sr. P Ryan Rose, Jr. P Jesse Sweet and and Fr. P Kalankiewicz, who are all responsible in making the Leo's bull-pen fairly successful thus far.


I can't find any stats on them, but here are some of their key players:
SS Jack Mehl
3B/2B Trevor Boucher
DH Scott Marcus
SP Tim Jolly


Key Games: Lost 2 of 3 to Cal State East Bay, Swept 2 games from TLU, Swept 2 games from Cal Lutheran
"Statistics are used much like a drunk uses a lamppost: for support, not illumination."--Vin Scully

"I don't really care," he said with an impish smile. "It's all about the Dodgers. I don't think anyone really watches hockey anymore.".....Tiger Woods

Just_Some_Guy

Quote from: Browneagle64 on March 07, 2008, 04:35:16 PM
Hey J.S.G,

May I add Sr. P Ryan Rose, Jr. P Jesse Sweet and and Fr. P Kalankiewicz, who are all responsible in making the Leo's bull-pen fairly successful thus far.


I always welcome recommendations. Since I didn't have the stats I just took it upon myself to run a few for their pitching staff and that Leo's Bullpen has been solid.

I mentioned Jolly because he's arguably their best returning pitcher, but of the three guys they're currently using as starters (Jolly, Rose and Sweet) he had the highest ERA at 5.51.  Rose's was 4.20 at time of the rankings and now is 5.89, and Sweet's is 3.45.  Looking back through my evaluations I only have a couple of guys with an ERA over Sweet's mentioned. One is 2-0, has a miniscule average against and is hitting the ball well (i.e. playing both ways), and the other has 3 saves and 17K's in 12 innings.

So in retrospect I probably don't mention any of the Leo's starters, BUT Grant Wheatley has pitched 5.1 scoreless and Jimmy Wilfong has given up 1 run in 10 innings for a 0.90 ERA so both of those guys, particularly Wilfond probably deserved a mention. Blame the Leo's or the SCIAC for not having stats up yet.

And what about Kalankiewicz ? He hasn't logged an inning yet to my knowledge.

JSG

The_CRU_05

Quote from: infielddad on March 07, 2008, 12:52:15 PM
J_S_G:
To provide a little support for Cal State East Bay.
Their losses include one to Division I San Jose State 9-3.  SJS is very good this year and that game was competitive.
Another loss was to Division II San Francisco State which would be a very strong DIII squad.  They also beat them twice.
While I did not, my son saw them at Menlo College.
His description was "they mash."  He really liked their hitters and their approach.  From the game he watched, he felt they compared well with their 2004 Regional team.

How old is your son?  This is an adult topic, I hope he is at least 18...if he is not we cannot take his synopsis of "they mash" as official without a signed affidavit.  for the record...the WAC is going to dismantle that San Jose State team, i respect their accomplishments in recent years, but they are young and will not make it passed La Tech and Nevada....Dont even get me started on that San Francisco State team, they are horrible....Just b/c they are D1 doesnt mean Cal State East Bay shouldnt beat them...Ill take your side that the SJSU loss is a legit loss, but the only thing they got better at by playing them was losing...and the loss to SFSU only gave them 1 of their 4 wins and once again made CSEB only better at losing....if you practice bad habits you will only form bad habits....after last season they need to be playing as many teams they can beat or in-region teams as possible not only to get all those seniors some padding for their stats and confidence to take into conference play, but also to give themselves the best possible chance for post-season play.  Menlo College sucks.

Blackcat00

Are we talking football or baseball here? LA Tech should be ok if they can get their stud ace to get his head of his a$$. As far as for the West Coast, the 49ers of San Fran just dont get the quaility California recruits, Kinda like the North Texas Mean Green of college football recruiting in Texas, so they struggle with living the west coast stepbrothers who are left playing lacrosse that didnt make the baseball team.

Just_Some_Guy

Quote from: The_CRU_05 on March 11, 2008, 07:37:30 PM
How old is your son?  This is an adult topic, I hope he is at least 18...if he is not we cannot take his synopsis of "they mash" as official without a signed affidavit.  for the record...the WAC is going to dismantle that San Jose State team, i respect their accomplishments in recent years, but they are young and will not make it passed La Tech and Nevada....Dont even get me started on that San Francisco State team, they are horrible....Just b/c they are D1 doesnt mean Cal State East Bay shouldnt beat them...Ill take your side that the SJSU loss is a legit loss, but the only thing they got better at by playing them was losing...and the loss to SFSU only gave them 1 of their 4 wins and once again made CSEB only better at losing....if you practice bad habits you will only form bad habits....after last season they need to be playing as many teams they can beat or in-region teams as possible not only to get all those seniors some padding for their stats and confidence to take into conference play, but also to give themselves the best possible chance for post-season play.  Menlo College sucks.

I think it's safe to say his son is a viable source for evaluating whether or not a team can "mash"

In the MiLB in 2006: "Hit .270 with one homer, 16 RBIs and 20 runs scored in 49 games with Class A Lansing"
In 2005: "Batted team-best .289 (min. 378 plate appearances) with 52 RBIs and 63 runs scored in 118 games with Class A Lansing...Selected to the Eastern Division roster for the 2005 Midwest League All-Star Game."

With all due respect your posts thus far have been abrasive and classless. Certainly not representative of the Christian institute you played ball at. While both bman and Hambone have a couple of pointless posts (and are HUGE homers ;-) ) they've both made some pretty solid contributions to this forum. You have not.

You're obviously just trying to stir the pot (both without tact and sound evidence), and in the future I would appreciate it if you would alter your approach or refrain from muddling up a thread that I've started that hopefully entices serious baseball chatter.

Take care.

JSG

mideastfan

^^^ probably the most accurate thread I've read in 2 years.  It's early March and I'm already getting tired of reading his posts.  Thank you for stating what we've all been thinking.

HAMBONE

Quote from: Just_Some_Guy on March 11, 2008, 07:55:40 PM
Quote from: The_CRU_05 on March 11, 2008, 07:37:30 PM
How old is your son?  This is an adult topic, I hope he is at least 18...if he is not we cannot take his synopsis of "they mash" as official without a signed affidavit.  for the record...the WAC is going to dismantle that San Jose State team, i respect their accomplishments in recent years, but they are young and will not make it passed La Tech and Nevada....Dont even get me started on that San Francisco State team, they are horrible....Just b/c they are D1 doesnt mean Cal State East Bay shouldnt beat them...Ill take your side that the SJSU loss is a legit loss, but the only thing they got better at by playing them was losing...and the loss to SFSU only gave them 1 of their 4 wins and once again made CSEB only better at losing....if you practice bad habits you will only form bad habits....after last season they need to be playing as many teams they can beat or in-region teams as possible not only to get all those seniors some padding for their stats and confidence to take into conference play, but also to give themselves the best possible chance for post-season play.  Menlo College sucks.

I think it's safe to say his son is a viable source for evaluating whether or not a team can "mash"

In the MiLB in 2006: "Hit .270 with one homer, 16 RBIs and 20 runs scored in 49 games with Class A Lansing"
In 2005: "Batted team-best .289 (min. 378 plate appearances) with 52 RBIs and 63 runs scored in 118 games with Class A Lansing...Selected to the Eastern Division roster for the 2005 Midwest League All-Star Game."

With all due respect your posts thus far have been abrasive and classless. Certainly not representative of the Christian institute you played ball at. While both bman and Hambone have a couple of pointless posts (and are HUGE homers ;-) ) they've both made some pretty solid contributions to this forum. You have not.

You're obviously just trying to stir the pot (both without tact and sound evidence), and in the future I would appreciate it if you would alter your approach or refrain from muddling up a thread that I've started that hopefully entices serious baseball chatter.

Take care.

JSG


Homer?  c'mon, i know you can sum Bman3 and i up with a more descriptive term than homer.  maybe if you said that we are both a couple of The_CRU_05's.....then i would know you were spittin out some fighting words.


to the_cru_05...Grow up...we all appreciate humor but have a little respect.  JSG spends alot of time and effort to respesct the conference that you and I both played in.  and as for infielddad, his son just so happens to not only still be playing (which you obviously are not since you have time to waste on a D3 website) but he was 1 of the best players to ever play in the ASC again the conference from whom you represent.

Why dont you spend a little less time on your laptop stirring the pot in a negative manner, and go help your team get prepared for a real college game during their cinderella season...we are all proud of their hitter and pitcher of the week selections vs a team thats none and 100...we already know that good competition will beat them a majority of the time (ozarks took 2 of 3)...

JSG - keep doing what you do

Just_Some_Guy

#128
Don't get in a habit of seeing these every week, but my work schedule has afforded me a little extra time this week so I figured I would make an update to the list. There's just commentary this time because there haven't been that many more games to influence key players/stats that much. Plus, I'm thinking of doing something else to highlight some of the players in the West Region thus far this year.

(Note: # in parenthesis denotes last week's ranking).

1. Chapman 12-2 (1) - They're still the class of the west. Their schedule gets a little tougher as the season progresses, but they've played well all year despite Luzar not throwing much and Kitchens hardly throwing at all.  Mike Vass has been instrumental to their success as a new addition to the middle of their order, and their role-players (as always) are doing a great job off the bench. The big question mark is the health of their staff because in a regional situation I don't think they want to be relying on Ryan Clear to win them a big game. I think they're missing Cavan a little, but if Yacko gets hot at the plate and those two starters come back strong you can elevate this team another level.

2. UT Tyler 16-3 (2) - With the exception of a solid Concordia team, the Patriots schedule had been relatively soft thus far this year, but they've just played 6 games in 3 days (against solid competition, particularly the last three days) and we've been able to learn more about them. They're going to hit, regardless; there's no doubt about that – though they still haven't faced a staff like the Ozarks yet. What has to concern them is that after the Big 3 there doesn't seem to be much depth on the mound. Zeigler, Wolfe and Munchrath are way better suited for the late innings. Their D got a little sloppy the last three games, but they've been solid all year. 

3. Ozarks 16-2 (3) - This team is for real. Let me repeat that, this team is for real. Possibly the best offensive team in the ASC will get a good test this weekend against UT Dallas. (They could really put them in a hole couldn't they?) With the emergence of Todd Koch as viable starter and another year of experience for a team that was the 5th best team in the ASC last year and is returning virtually their entire roster, is it that hard to believe?  There's even some solid depth out of the pen, which is more than the majority of the ASC teams can say. The defense has been relatively shaky.

4. George Fox 10-3 (5) - GFU leapfrogs the Redlands primarily because I think they have a lot more depth on the mound and it will come in handy if both teams make the regional. (We'll talk more about it when we get to the Redlands). Pat Bailey is killing the ball, they have good depth on the mound (despite Langeleirs being pretty awful after being arguably their best pitcher last year), they're beating teams they should beat, and if they get Bo Thunell back (I don't know the story) I don't forsee them relinquishing the NWC lead to Linfield or Pac Lutheran.

5. Redlands 11-5 (4) - They don't hit for much power, but these guys get on the sack and constantly try to control the momentum by putting runners in motion. Nolan Nicholson has been one of the best pitchers in the West region, but he hasn't had much help. The Redlands desperately need a 3rd starter as Seifert, who pitched decent against Pac Lu, hasn't been very competitive sense. With the exception of Dryden the bullpen has been relatively ineffective as well. Dropping game 3 to teams they should beat in conference will allow both La Verne and Pomona to surpass them even if they're taking 2 of 3 from those teams.

6. Mary Hardin Baylor 14-3 (7) - 6. Mary-Hardin Baylor – We'll learn a lot about the Cru this weekend against Hardin-Simmons. Are they a great hitting team or do they just hit mediocre pitching well? (Koch and Dixon certainly shut them down), but they're hitting .352 as a team. Garza's been solid as expected and  FR Jared Hopper has been solid as a #2. Montoya, Dobbins, and Welch have had control problems, but if they iron those out and Tumlinson is healthy (he's been good in limited action) then they have one of the deeper staffs on the West side of the ASC (w/McMurry). They don't play very good D, but they do have a 9-hole hitter with 5 bombs and 21 RBI and a filthy first four hitters (ala McMurry).

7. Linfield 10-3 ( 8 ) - A lot like the Tyler team, their staff has been great, but four guys have thrown 82% of their innings, which won't translate well to regional play, and I'm admittedly a little surprised it's worked thus far in their four game conference series. If Cameron Larson can return to his '07 form though, what a great rotation. Aside from the top of their order they're not swinging it all that great, but they're playing phenomenal defense (.976). Great pitching, defense, and timely hitting wins championships, but losing 2 of 4 against a Pac Lutheran team who dropped 3 against Pacific (Ore) makes a little hesitant to consider them the NWC favorites over GFU.

8. Cal State East Bay 11-5 (6) - This team has a couple of suspect losses, and not to opponents staff aces either, but they did take 2 of 3 from a solid La Verne team. Matt Viera is a legitimate staff ace, and they've done a good job getting this staff ready (there's a great IP balance) for their brutal late March/early April schedule where we'll learn if they truly belong on this list. With Lamonte Toney, Marc Tuttle and Michael Thomasson hitting in the middle of that order you can't relax. The whole roster runs (every starter has at least two steals), and they've played solid D thus far as well this year (.968).

9. Pomona Pitzer 11-3 (NR) - With La Verne losing the series to the Redlands, and Pomona playing pretty impressive baseball (no, I'm not counting massacring Cal Tech) this jump was inevitable. Mandleblatt seems to be back on track and freshman David Colvin has been great as the team's #2. There another team that's depth on the mound is questionable, but they're also playing great defense (.969).  They could use a little more help from the bottom of their order, but as long as guys are getting on base in front of Hedman (.442, 25 RBIs in 14 games), they'll score runs. If we can't get a good read on this team after this weekend, we'll have to wait until their match up with the Redlands in late March. They only have 8 SB attempts all year.

10. McMurry 10-7 (NR) - McMurry has a couple of suspect losses (ETBU & Southwestern – Has Wes Willis beat every solid ASC West team this year?), but they've played a tough early season schedule and they seem to be hitting stride (though we can't confirm this until after the TLU series this weekend). With Wood (quite a bit) and Smith proving they can help this staff, it gives them potentially the deepest staff in the ASC West, and we all know what Yurchick, Franco, David and Vorhees do at the top of that order. They're another team that's gotten pretty good production from their role-players and bench.

What makes them better than Concordia who they replaced on this poll? Better pitching, more pitching depth, and better offense top to bottom. Also, I perceived their series against HSU to be more challenging than CUA's series against TLU at this point in the season.

Dropped Out: Concordia 13-7, La Verne 7-6-1

JSG

Blackcat00

Concordia beats Huston Tilitson 13-6 and are a respectible 13-7.

Just_Some_Guy

Don't get in a habit of seeing these every week, but my work schedule has afforded me a little extra time this week so I figured I would make an update to the list. There's just commentary this time because there haven't been that many more games to influence key players/stats that much. Plus, I'm thinking of doing something else to highlight some of the players in the West Region thus far this year.

(Note: # in parenthesis denotes last week's ranking).

1. Chapman 12-2 (1) - They're still the class of the west. Their schedule gets a little tougher as the season progresses, but they've played well all year despite Luzar not throwing much and Kitchens hardly throwing at all.  Mike Vass has been instrumental to their success as a new addition to the middle of their order, and their role-players (as always) are doing a great job off the bench. The big question mark is the health of their staff because in a regional situation I don't think they want to be relying on Ryan Clear to win them a big game. I think they're missing Cavan a little, but if Yacko gets hot at the plate and those two starters come back strong you can elevate this team another level.

2. UT Tyler 16-3 (2) - With the exception of a solid Concordia team, the Patriots schedule had been relatively soft thus far this year, but they've just played 6 games in 3 days (against solid competition, particularly the last three days) and we've been able to learn more about them. They're going to hit, regardless; there's no doubt about that – though they still haven't faced a staff like the Ozarks yet. What has to concern them is that after the Big 3 there doesn't seem to be much depth on the mound. Zeigler, Wolfe and Munchrath are way better suited for the late innings. Their D got a little sloppy the last three games, but they've been solid all year. 

3. Ozarks 16-2 (3) - This team is for real. Let me repeat that, this team is for real. Possibly the best offensive team in the ASC will get a good test this weekend against UT Dallas. (They could really put them in a hole couldn't they?) With the emergence of Todd Koch as viable starter and another year of experience for a team that was the 5th best team in the ASC last year and is returning virtually their entire roster, is it that hard to believe?  There's even some solid depth out of the pen, which is more than the majority of the ASC teams can say. The defense has been relatively shaky.

4. George Fox 10-3 (5) - GFU leapfrogs the Redlands primarily because I think they have a lot more depth on the mound and it will come in handy if both teams make the regional. (We'll talk more about it when we get to the Redlands). Pat Bailey is killing the ball, they have good depth on the mound (despite Langeleirs being pretty awful after being arguably their best pitcher last year), they're beating teams they should beat, and if they get Bo Thunell back (I don't know the story) I don't forsee them relinquishing the NWC lead to Linfield or Pac Lutheran.

5. Redlands 11-5 (4) - They don't hit for much power, but these guys get on the sack and constantly try to control the momentum by putting runners in motion. Nolan Nicholson has been one of the best pitchers in the West region, but he hasn't had much help. The Redlands desperately need a 3rd starter as Seifert, who pitched decent against Pac Lu, hasn't been very competitive sense. With the exception of Dryden the bullpen has been relatively ineffective as well. Dropping game 3 to teams they should beat in conference will allow both La Verne and Pomona to surpass them even if they're taking 2 of 3 from those teams.

6. Mary Hardin Baylor 14-3 (7) - 6. Mary-Hardin Baylor – We'll learn a lot about the Cru this weekend against Hardin-Simmons. Are they a great hitting team or do they just hit mediocre pitching well? (Koch and Dixon certainly shut them down), but they're hitting .352 as a team. Garza's been solid as expected and  FR Jared Hopper has been solid as a #2. Montoya, Dobbins, and Welch have had control problems, but if they iron those out and Tumlinson is healthy (he's been good in limited action) then they have one of the deeper staffs on the West side of the ASC (w/McMurry). They don't play very good D, but they do have a 9-hole hitter with 5 bombs and 21 RBI and a filthy first four hitters (ala McMurry).

7. Linfield 10-3 ( 8 ) - A lot like the Tyler team, their staff has been great, but four guys have thrown 82% of their innings, which won't translate well to regional play, and I'm admittedly a little surprised it's worked thus far in their four game conference series. If Cameron Larson can return to his '07 form though, what a great rotation. Aside from the top of their order they're not swinging it all that great, but they're playing phenomenal defense (.976). Great pitching, defense, and timely hitting wins championships, but losing 2 of 4 against a Pac Lutheran team who dropped 3 against Pacific (Ore) makes a little hesitant to consider them the NWC favorites over GFU.

8. Cal State East Bay 11-5 (6) - This team has a couple of suspect losses, and not to opponents staff aces either, but they did take 2 of 3 from a solid La Verne team. Matt Viera is a legitimate staff ace, and they've done a good job getting this staff ready (there's a great IP balance) for their brutal late March/early April schedule where we'll learn if they truly belong on this list. With Lamonte Toney, Marc Tuttle and Michael Thomasson hitting in the middle of that order you can't relax. The whole roster runs (every starter has at least two steals), and they've played solid D thus far as well this year (.968).

9. Pomona Pitzer 11-3 (NR) - With La Verne losing the series to the Redlands, and Pomona playing pretty impressive baseball (no, I'm not counting massacring Cal Tech) this jump was inevitable. Mandleblatt seems to be back on track and freshman David Colvin has been great as the team's #2. There another team that's depth on the mound is questionable, but they're also playing great defense (.969).  They could use a little more help from the bottom of their order, but as long as guys are getting on base in front of Hedman (.442, 25 RBIs in 14 games), they'll score runs. If we can't get a good read on this team after this weekend, we'll have to wait until their match up with the Redlands in late March. They only have 8 SB attempts all year.

10. McMurry 10-7 (NR) - McMurry has a couple of suspect losses (ETBU & Southwestern – Has Wes Willis beat every solid ASC West team this year?), but they've played a tough early season schedule and they seem to be hitting stride (though we can't confirm this until after the TLU series this weekend). With Wood (quite a bit) and Smith proving they can help this staff, it gives them potentially the deepest staff in the ASC West, and we all know what Yurchick, Franco, David and Vorhees do at the top of that order. They're another team that's gotten pretty good production from their role-players and bench.

What makes them better than Concordia who they replaced on this poll? Better pitching, more pitching depth, and better offense top to bottom. Also, I perceived their series against HSU to be more challenging than CUA's series against TLU at this point in the season.

Dropped Out: Concordia 13-7, La Verne 7-6-1

JSG

Just_Some_Guy

Quote from: Blackcat00 on March 12, 2008, 12:46:32 PM
Concordia beats Huston Tilitson 13-6 and are a respectible 13-7.

Thanks for your input Blackcat and I don't want to discount what Concordia has done at this point in the season. I definitely think they're a contender in the ASC, but the drop was more about what McMurry had done and less about Concordia's own body of work.

Concordia beat a TLU team that seems to be down this year. While Szkotak was pretty impressive and Whiteley threw okay as well, both the #1 Morrison and Aubry seemed pretty vulnerable and that has to worry a team that already doesn't have much depth on the bump.

A big positive was what both Schrock and Beasley did against TLU. Schrock hadn't played much, and Beasley hadn't swung it well prior to that series, but both came on strong which is good considering both Wernecke and Thielepape aren't swinging it to their ability.

The Tillotson game just isn't going to carry that much weight.

McMurry took 2 of 3 from Hardin Simmons and the one they lost was the 7 inning game where the Cowboys were able to hand it over to their phenemonal back end. They followed that up by showcasing some depth on the mound when they beat Tyler and Southwestern on Monday and Tuesday.

My perception at this moment, is that McMurry is the better team. The fun part about this game is that my perception doesn't mean a whole lot, and chances are it will change 100x by the end of the season.

JSG

BigPoppa

Quote from: Just_Some_Guy on March 12, 2008, 01:12:23 PM
Don't get in a habit of seeing these every week, but my work schedule has afforded me a little extra time this week so I figured I would make an update to the list. There's just commentary this time because there haven't been that many more games to influence key players/stats that much. Plus, I'm thinking of doing something else to highlight some of the players in the West Region thus far this year.

(Note: # in parenthesis denotes last week's ranking).

1. Chapman 12-2 (1) - They're still the class of the west. Their schedule gets a little tougher as the season progresses, but they've played well all year despite Luzar not throwing much and Kitchens hardly throwing at all.  Mike Vass has been instrumental to their success as a new addition to the middle of their order, and their role-players (as always) are doing a great job off the bench. The big question mark is the health of their staff because in a regional situation I don't think they want to be relying on Ryan Clear to win them a big game. I think they're missing Cavan a little, but if Yacko gets hot at the plate and those two starters come back strong you can elevate this team another level.

2. UT Tyler 16-3 (2) - With the exception of a solid Concordia team, the Patriots schedule had been relatively soft thus far this year, but they've just played 6 games in 3 days (against solid competition, particularly the last three days) and we've been able to learn more about them. They're going to hit, regardless; there's no doubt about that – though they still haven't faced a staff like the Ozarks yet. What has to concern them is that after the Big 3 there doesn't seem to be much depth on the mound. Zeigler, Wolfe and Munchrath are way better suited for the late innings. Their D got a little sloppy the last three games, but they've been solid all year. 

3. Ozarks 16-2 (3) - This team is for real. Let me repeat that, this team is for real. Possibly the best offensive team in the ASC will get a good test this weekend against UT Dallas. (They could really put them in a hole couldn't they?) With the emergence of Todd Koch as viable starter and another year of experience for a team that was the 5th best team in the ASC last year and is returning virtually their entire roster, is it that hard to believe?  There's even some solid depth out of the pen, which is more than the majority of the ASC teams can say. The defense has been relatively shaky.

4. George Fox 10-3 (5) - GFU leapfrogs the Redlands primarily because I think they have a lot more depth on the mound and it will come in handy if both teams make the regional. (We'll talk more about it when we get to the Redlands). Pat Bailey is killing the ball, they have good depth on the mound (despite Langeleirs being pretty awful after being arguably their best pitcher last year), they're beating teams they should beat, and if they get Bo Thunell back (I don't know the story) I don't forsee them relinquishing the NWC lead to Linfield or Pac Lutheran.

5. Redlands 11-5 (4) - They don't hit for much power, but these guys get on the sack and constantly try to control the momentum by putting runners in motion. Nolan Nicholson has been one of the best pitchers in the West region, but he hasn't had much help. The Redlands desperately need a 3rd starter as Seifert, who pitched decent against Pac Lu, hasn't been very competitive sense. With the exception of Dryden the bullpen has been relatively ineffective as well. Dropping game 3 to teams they should beat in conference will allow both La Verne and Pomona to surpass them even if they're taking 2 of 3 from those teams.

6. Mary Hardin Baylor 14-3 (7) - 6. Mary-Hardin Baylor – We'll learn a lot about the Cru this weekend against Hardin-Simmons. Are they a great hitting team or do they just hit mediocre pitching well? (Koch and Dixon certainly shut them down), but they're hitting .352 as a team. Garza's been solid as expected and  FR Jared Hopper has been solid as a #2. Montoya, Dobbins, and Welch have had control problems, but if they iron those out and Tumlinson is healthy (he's been good in limited action) then they have one of the deeper staffs on the West side of the ASC (w/McMurry). They don't play very good D, but they do have a 9-hole hitter with 5 bombs and 21 RBI and a filthy first four hitters (ala McMurry).

7. Linfield 10-3 ( 8 ) - A lot like the Tyler team, their staff has been great, but four guys have thrown 82% of their innings, which won't translate well to regional play, and I'm admittedly a little surprised it's worked thus far in their four game conference series. If Cameron Larson can return to his '07 form though, what a great rotation. Aside from the top of their order they're not swinging it all that great, but they're playing phenomenal defense (.976). Great pitching, defense, and timely hitting wins championships, but losing 2 of 4 against a Pac Lutheran team who dropped 3 against Pacific (Ore) makes a little hesitant to consider them the NWC favorites over GFU.

8. Cal State East Bay 11-5 (6) - This team has a couple of suspect losses, and not to opponents staff aces either, but they did take 2 of 3 from a solid La Verne team. Matt Viera is a legitimate staff ace, and they've done a good job getting this staff ready (there's a great IP balance) for their brutal late March/early April schedule where we'll learn if they truly belong on this list. With Lamonte Toney, Marc Tuttle and Michael Thomasson hitting in the middle of that order you can't relax. The whole roster runs (every starter has at least two steals), and they've played solid D thus far as well this year (.968).

9. Pomona Pitzer 11-3 (NR) - With La Verne losing the series to the Redlands, and Pomona playing pretty impressive baseball (no, I'm not counting massacring Cal Tech) this jump was inevitable. Mandleblatt seems to be back on track and freshman David Colvin has been great as the team's #2. There another team that's depth on the mound is questionable, but they're also playing great defense (.969).  They could use a little more help from the bottom of their order, but as long as guys are getting on base in front of Hedman (.442, 25 RBIs in 14 games), they'll score runs. If we can't get a good read on this team after this weekend, we'll have to wait until their match up with the Redlands in late March. They only have 8 SB attempts all year.

10. McMurry 10-7 (NR) - McMurry has a couple of suspect losses (ETBU & Southwestern – Has Wes Willis beat every solid ASC West team this year?), but they've played a tough early season schedule and they seem to be hitting stride (though we can't confirm this until after the TLU series this weekend). With Wood (quite a bit) and Smith proving they can help this staff, it gives them potentially the deepest staff in the ASC West, and we all know what Yurchick, Franco, David and Vorhees do at the top of that order. They're another team that's gotten pretty good production from their role-players and bench.

What makes them better than Concordia who they replaced on this poll? Better pitching, more pitching depth, and better offense top to bottom. Also, I perceived their series against HSU to be more challenging than CUA's series against TLU at this point in the season.

Dropped Out: Concordia 13-7, La Verne 7-6-1

JSG


Your research amazes me. Please keep up the great work. I can only catch a few West Region games because of my busy schedule so I rely on your words to help me through all that I am missing.
Baseball is not a game that builds character, it is a game that reveals it.

Blackcat00

Great folow up and insight on your rankings. It will be real interesting to see what happens here in the next two or so weeks in conference. Right now I dont see CTX in the top of any rankings, I just beleive at 13-7  they do have some quality wins and big margin victories. They are going to have to out hit their oppenents this year and if they can sweep Howard Payne this weekend, it will put them in a very good position in the West, with some top match ups facing off.

HAMBONE