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

Jim Dixon

Quote from: utilitycat17 on February 23, 2007, 11:36:47 AM
Although you may be right that the Texas teams came late to D3 baseball they did not come along much later than Chapman.  Chapman has only been at the D3 level since 1994.  Gaining their first appearance at the World Series in 1997.  They were a D1 program prior to 1994.  Although you are right about first timers not doing well at the series as Chapman did not win their first game at the series until their second trip in 2000.  They have however been able to hold onto their position as a perennial playoff team since that 1997 season. 

Chapman has consistently put a good team on the field compared to the field.  I would have to say that they are one of the top 3 school sin the last decade.  One can lump them with ECSU and Cortland State.  All three programs are  year-in year-out favorites to make the Championship round. 

Just_Some_Guy

Quote from: utilitycat17 on February 23, 2007, 11:58:40 AM
If you are going to decide your AQ from one weekend why did you play the whole season; just to get a better seed to play the same teams over again?

I totally agree. I dislike NASCAR, but you don't decide the season championship based on one race, it's a culmination of the whole season as it should be with baseball.

Quote from: utilitycat17 on February 23, 2007, 11:58:40 AM
 It just doesn't seem fair to me when in the last few years we have seen instances where good teams were left out of the playoffs because the pool C had to be filled by top ranked teams who couldn't win their tournaments.  My point here is that if you come from a strong conference wouldn't you want as many legitimate pool C opportunities as possible to get more teams in.  If they are all being taken up by teams losing their tounament unexpectedly it takes opportunities away from other deserving teams.  Meaning undeserving teams are taking away the pool A bid. ?

I agree with everything you've mentioned here whole-heartily. Pool A teams that are medicore at best during the season and get fortunate in a conference tournament nearly always fail in the regionals.  There's no way that Texas Lutheran shouldn't have gotten a bid in '03 when they were the number one team in the nation nearly the whole year. I'm not so sure UTD didn't deserve one last year. They were certainly a better team than the Redlands (granted the SCIAC gets a team in) and probably East-Bay as well.

BigPoppa

Just let it all play out... it all becomes very clear by the end of April/early May.
Baseball is not a game that builds character, it is a game that reveals it.

Ralph Turner

Quote from: utilitycat17 on February 23, 2007, 11:58:40 AM
Quote from: Just_Some_Guy on February 22, 2007, 07:32:54 PM


[In 2003, they started the season 26-0, but lost out in the ASC tournament and didn't receive an at-large bid.  I think that makes a huge difference.  In the NWC, if you win the regular season, you're in.  In the ASC - if you win the regular season that means nothing, because you still have to win an 8 team tournament just to get to the regional.  With so much depth in that conference (moreso than the NWC and SCIAC) that's a TOUGH tournament to get out of.

This is probably not the right place for this question, but I can't think of a better place for it.  How do people feel about conference tournaments deciding the automatic bid from a conference?  I personally have never liked the idea of them, especially at the D3 level.  I don't understand their purpose.  If you are going to decide your AQ from one weekend why did you play the whole season; just to get a better seed to play the same teams over again?  I can't imagine these tournaments are great money makers as they are for D1 basketball.  It just doesn't seem fair to me when in the last few years we have seen instances where good teams were left out of the playoffs because the pool C had to be filled by top ranked teams who couldn't win their tournaments.  Two examples are in 2003 Ripon, who was the #1 in the country, lost to St. Norbert, who was below .500.  Ripon was given a pool C bid taking one away from another worthy team.  St. Norbert, by the way, lost both of their games in routs.  The other example I believe is also from 2003 with the same thing happening for Eastern Connecticut.  My point here is that if you come from a strong conference wouldn't you want as many legitimate pool C opportunities as possible to get more teams in.  If they are all being taken up by teams losing their tounament unexpectedly it takes opportunities away from other deserving teams.  Meaning undeserving teams are taking away the pool A bid.

utilitycat, please forgive me if I misinterpreted your post, but I have brought what I thought was your post out of the quote notation.  I will give my opinion below.   Thanks, Ralph.

I look at this in 2 ways.  It is fair for a team to win the regular season pennant.  And, were I the conference commissioner, I would make sure that there is a distinciton.  Win the regular season, hoist the pennant.

But with the way that baseball has become a tourney sport, I can see the distinction that "winning the tourney for the right to go on" has become a big motivating factor.

Honor both accomplishments.  I think that that is fair.

utilitycat17

Quote from: Ralph Turner on February 23, 2007, 10:11:26 PM

Honor both accomplishments.  I think that that is fair.

Fair enough.  I'll never really like it, but I do understand that it keeps everyone involved and motivated all season long.  Instead of losing that early series and thinking your season is over, it keeps teams in it til the end.  There is something to be said for a cinderela team, I guess.  Thanks for the opinions guys.

Just_Some_Guy

No rankings this week because I want to see what happens next week.  There was definitely some parity in the bottom half of what would've been the top 10 this weekend with McMurry taking 2 of 3 from a UTD team that took 2 of 3 from a very good Trinity team which won the AZ tournament they participated in.  Cal Lu dropped 2 of 3 at Pitzer which probably would've led to Pitzer being the other SCIAC in the rankings. Linfield probably has to drop out dropping down to 3-3 with GFU beating Corban, who beat Linfield. Mississippi might not have a lot of depth on the mound, but they made a statement crushing UMHB in 3 games in ASC cross-divisional play. Hardin Simmons took 2 of 3 from a pretty good Louisianna College (probably 4th in the East).  Texas Lutheran played pretty sloppily but managed to sweep the Ozarks.  They'll host Trinity on Tuesday in what could be the game of the week. Trinity will throw staff ace Brian Oates from what I hear. Tyler remained undefeated. 

When it's all said and done, I think the teams with the best pitching are in the regional and so that makes me lean towards teams like Chapman, George Fox, Trinity, Texas Lutheran, UT Tyler (if they weren't provisional) and maybe the Redlands and Hardin Simmons (who I THINK will come around as the season progresses), and away from teams like UTD, Mississippi, Concordia (aside from Miller) and McMurry who don't have the depth on the mound as much as the other teams.

Some teams to watch:

Indep:
Chapman 11-1
East Bay 7-2

NWC:
George Fox 6-0
Linfield 3-3
Pacific (Ore) 2-1
Pacific Lu 6-3

SCIAC:
Redlands 6-2
Pomona Pitzer 7-2
Cal Lutheran 6-6
Claremont 5-5

ASC:
Texas Lutheran 10-0
UT Tyler 8-0
Mississippi Coll 6-3
Hardin Simmons 5-3
UT Dallas 4-3
Concordia 7-6
McMurry 4-5
Schreiner 9-1

SCAC:
Trinity 5-4



Bearkat00

Schreiner is 9-1!!!!!  Have they had a weak schedule?

Ralph Turner

Quote from: Bearkat00 on February 27, 2007, 09:59:38 AM
Schreiner is 9-1!!!!!  Have they had a weak schedule?

Schreiner has had an interesting schedule.

vs. UTPB (D2)        3-0
vs. TA&MInt (D2)   1-2
vs. Southwestern (SCAC) 2-0
vs. Austin College (SCAC)  2-0
vs. UDallas (Indep) 2-0.

SRSU lost a DH to UT-Permian Basin.

I think that we must watch Schreiner.

Ralph Turner

Quote from: Just_Some_Guy on February 25, 2007, 11:06:33 PM
...
When it's all said and done, I think the teams with the best pitching are in the regional and so that makes me lean towards teams like Chapman, George Fox, Trinity, Texas Lutheran, UT Tyler (if they weren't provisional) and maybe the Redlands and Hardin Simmons (who I THINK will come around as the season progresses), and away from teams like UTD, Mississippi, Concordia (aside from Miller) and McMurry who don't have the depth on the mound as much as the other teams. ...


I appreciate the depth of your summary.

+1  :)

CUAfan

And Concordia has four losses to Houston Baptist, a top NAIA team. Take those out (which we can't, obviously :P), and we're 7-2.

And we'll be fine on the mound, IMO.
Let's go 'Nados!

BigPoppa

Schreiner is always a team that draws early season interest. It seems that every spring their name pops up, but they are not around in May. Maybe this will be a different year for them.
Baseball is not a game that builds character, it is a game that reveals it.

Just_Some_Guy

Quote from: BigPoppa on February 28, 2007, 10:40:30 AM
Schreiner is always a team that draws early season interest. It seems that every spring their name pops up, but they are not around in May. Maybe this will be a different year for them.

Really?  I don't recall Schreiner EVER drawing any interest in quite some time. I think they're better on the mound than they have been in a long time and that they're pretty scrappy at the plate led by Kester.  I don't know that they have what it takes to consistently beat the Texas Lutheran, Hardin Simmons, McMurry and Concordia's of the world, but that's what the games are for.

Texas Lutheran 11-0 vs. UT Tyler 9-0 should be a really good match up this weekend at Tyler. Any predictions?

McMurry vs. Mississippi College and Hardin Simmons vs. UT Dallas also pit consistent ASC playoff contenders against one another. Predictions for those?

CUAfan

I'll say TLU wins the series 2-1, just since I'm an ASC West homer. :P
Let's go 'Nados!

Ralph Turner

Schreiner won the conference in 2000.

SRSU had some really good pitching in 1999, too.


Ralph Turner

As for this week's game, I think that we can see if some pitching staffs are improving.

For outside fans, I think this weekend describes the ASC diliemma.  The ASC champion would finish in the top half of almost any sectional in the country, and the champion will have won their division by one game over the top 3-4 teams in their division!

On a power rating, I don't see that we have a Top 8 team in the ASC, but we have a bunch of teams that fit very nicely in the mid 20's on a power rating...along with a bunch of other programs around the country.  In the West Regional, Chapman had to beat TLU twice on the last day to win and advance, and TLU only lead the ASC West Division over 4th place McMurry by 1 game.  Such is the ASC.