BB: OAC: Ohio Athletic Conference

Started by Ralph Turner, January 09, 2006, 11:38:52 PM

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Dr. Acula

Way too early thoughts on 2015:

Etta:  With Herstine leading the way and their track record for developing pitching they have to be the favorite to win the regular season title and host again next year IMO.  Need to improve the hitting obviously. 

BW:  With their 2-3-4 hitters back in tow they should again be the most dangerous lineup.  Waite will be gone and he's been good for them.  They need to replace him.  Harrison does a good job bringing talent in so they'll be fine I'm guessing.

Berg:  This is weird to say, but even with Hug back my impression of Berg next year right now is that they lack star power.  There's no Lizcano or Lowe on this team yet.  But the thing is they just have a bunch of pretty good guys so they're going to be good again IMO.   

ONU:  With those 3 starting pitchers back alone you have to think they're a favorite to make the OAC tourney. 

JCU:  Herringshaw, Lauer and Spagna is a lot of offense to replace.  Luckily they have pitching back to balance it out.  They'll be in the thick of it for a conference tourney spot.

Ott:  They're going to hit (and with Kettering and Simmerman they're going to hit it far), but can George find enough pitching to make it stand up?  They were spotty on the mound this year. 

Mount:  They lose 2/3 of their lineup to graduation and their #1 starter.  Good news is that Morino, Jakubik and Mohney all hit well as juniors and Clarke pitched as well as anyone they had this year.  They need to replace the entire OF, 1B and DH.  That's a lot of new faces in spots you need production.  They also need Toma to step into a more prominent role in the rotation after showing some good promise this year.

Musky:  Robberts is back.  He's good.  Other than that?  It's Musky...I never know what to expect.  But Thompson almost always has them competitive.  You overlook the Fish and you'll get beat.

Cap:  They lost a ton.  And they didn't have a good year this year.  Next year could be rough.  Or glass half full you recruit your a** off and play a bunch of freshmen because you can sell "come here and start now".

Wilm:  I just hope they get their numbers up a little.  For the sake of their arms they need some pitchers at the very least.   


EttaFan1

Quote from: Dr. Acula on May 23, 2014, 10:31:02 AM
Way too early thoughts on 2015:

Etta:  With Herstine leading the way and their track record for developing pitching they have to be the favorite to win the regular season title and host again next year IMO.  Need to improve the hitting obviously. 

Marietta loses two regular season contributors-ungerbeuhler and Buckewicz.  Josh's bat will be missed in the lineup.  The good news is the rest of the position players are back.  They do need to step up their offense though and that will be a high priority.  Herstine is a great anchor to the rotation.  Byers needs to develop his breaking ball and one other pitch.  The think I like is a lot of the freshman pitcher showed a lot of promise on the mound.  Nieberding has the physical tools, needs to get his fastball faster and improve his breaking/offspeed stuff.  Antill has as much promise as any of the ones I saw.  McNabb got some innings late in the year and also looked very strong when called upon.  His fast ball has some zip and his breaking stuff is crisp.  The others all have some potential as well.  I agree, looking at the league, I would have to say Marietta is (even with my pinstriped glasses on  8-) ) the early favorite and certainly one of the top three teams.

BW:  With their 2-3-4 hitters back in tow they should again be the most dangerous lineup.  Waite will be gone and he's been good for them.  They need to replace him.  Harrison does a good job bringing talent in so they'll be fine I'm guessing.

I am very interested to see how the Jackets do this weekend in Appleton.  Waite is as good a pitcher as there was in the OAC.  After that, their pitching was not the strongest.  Zimmerman has a lot of potential.  They have the sticks and the aggressive mindset to match.  I think they will be a tough team in the OAC next year and are one of the top three contenders.

Berg:  This is weird to say, but even with Hug back my impression of Berg next year right now is that they lack star power.  There's no Lizcano or Lowe on this team yet.  But the thing is they just have a bunch of pretty good guys so they're going to be good again IMO.   

I see berg in the 'next three.'  I don't see a strong pitching staff, yet.  Defensively they struggled at times.  Hug is a talented kid, no question.  I actually thought Monroe was the most dangerous hitter for them in the OAC tournament, and he is back.  He was killing the ball.  Hug looked pretty average in the tourney (which is the only time I saw 'Berg this season.) 

ONU:  With those 3 starting pitchers back alone you have to think they're a favorite to make the OAC tourney. 

I agree.  That was a young team.  IF they can get some offesnive support around Beliveau, they are going to be in that "next three" contending for one of those four spots.

JCU:  Herringshaw, Lauer and Spagna is a lot of offense to replace.  Luckily they have pitching back to balance it out.  They'll be in the thick of it for a conference tourney spot.

JCU is the other team I would think is in the "favorite" category.  They have quality pitching in spades.  Losing Lauer, Spagna, and Heringshaw is a lot of offense, but they cupboard is not bare, either.  Gentile, Sabatino, Cifello all provide a good nucleus.  JCU will be in the mix for the top spot. 

Ott:  They're going to hit (and with Kettering and Simmerman they're going to hit it far), but can George find enough pitching to make it stand up?  They were spotty on the mound this year. 

Pitching is a key component.  Otterbein has to find it.

Mount:  They lose 2/3 of their lineup to graduation and their #1 starter.  Good news is that Morino, Jakubik and Mohney all hit well as juniors and Clarke pitched as well as anyone they had this year.  They need to replace the entire OF, 1B and DH.  That's a lot of new faces in spots you need production.  They also need Toma to step into a more prominent role in the rotation after showing some good promise this year.

Humans in general have a tendnecy to project recent past results into the future.  IT is hard to look at what Mount is losing to graduation and not do the same.  The good news is if they do better it will be above expectations.  Don't know how they could be more disappointing than last season.  Hitting wasn't their problem. They are in the "second three" group.

Musky:  Robberts is back.  He's good.  Other than that?  It's Musky...I never know what to expect.  But Thompson almost always has them competitive.  You overlook the Fish and you'll get beat.

Cap:  They lost a ton.  And they didn't have a good year this year.  Next year could be rough.  Or glass half full you recruit your a** off and play a bunch of freshmen because you can sell "come here and start now".

Wilm:  I just hope they get their numbers up a little.  For the sake of their arms they need some pitchers at the very least.

So In general I agree. 

The first three (highly like to make the tournament, potential favorites to win the regular season title):
Marietta, JCU, BW.
The next three(fighting for one of the four spots, outside chance to host):
ONU, Berg, Mount
The Next two (will likely figure in the league race but a 4th place finish woul be a success).
Otterbein, Muskingum
The rest.
Cap and Wilm.


Dr. Acula

Way to go BW!  5-4 winners. Capadona comes into a jam in the 2nd, gets them out of it and goes on to pitch 6 innings of shutout relief.  Gugliotta and Hiller come through with big 2 out hits in the 7th and 8th, respectively.

motorman

#2538
Interesting article on NCAA website: http://www.ncaa.com/news/baseball/article/2014-5-26/hit-pitch-king

Certain people should note this quote, particularly the part that starts, "But if you truly understand baseball..."


When Angerer topped the conference mark, he received a note from former recorder-holder Andre Gomez, who played at Cal Poly Pomona in 1999 and 2000.

"As the former record holder, I understand that most casual observers won't look at the HBP record as a record to admire like they do home runs or RBIs," Gomez wrote. "But if you truly understand baseball, you know that every base runner counts and runners on base equals runs scored, and runs scored equals victories. In my personal opinion, if I didn't leave the field every day dirty and with a new bruise, I just didn't feel like I played that day."

Spence

Link still broken. Whatever.

Guy got one thing right...it's definitely not a record to admire. It's about 2 steps down from holding a record for walks, and about one step down from a record for sacrifice flies or something...at least that guy drove in a run and had to hit the ball to do it.

Did Heidelberg end up breaking the team HBP record? It looked like a lock but with their late season collapse they might actually have not made it. Haven't cared enough to look it up, really.


lefty2

Misericordia beat Moravian in the Mid-Atlantic Regional thanks largely to a back-to-back-to-back HBP.  It wasn't pretty, but the runs still counted.
The person who says something can't be done shouldn't stand in the way of the one who's doing it.

Bishopleftiesdad

Ex Capital pitcher Thomas Marker, 2000-2003, named head coach at Upper Arlington.

Dr. Acula

Congratulations to Mount Union assistant Evan Agona on being named the HC at Cuyahoga CC.  He did a great job at Mount, especially with mining talent out of western PA with his connections there.  He'll be missed, but I wish him well at Tri-C.

motorman

Heidelberg has most of its schedule posted except for the Florida trip which are tbd. With new coach comes something else new, they play 4 games before going south. At the end of Feb they play Manchester and Case in Chillicothe.

Bishopleftiesdad

Motorman, are they going to the snowbird again?

Dr. Acula

Those February games at Veterans seem to have a high cancellation rate.  I mean, it's February in Ohio!  Turf or no turf it's tough to play.

Bishopleftiesdad

Owu has done the veterans February schedule several times. Even if the games do not get cancelled it can be miserable. My son has pitched there in high winds with snow falling sideways. Hogh temp was 32.
Welcome to baseball in Ohio.

motorman

Quote from: Bishopleftiesdad on December 13, 2014, 01:25:46 PM
Motorman, are they going to the snowbird again?
As far as I know, yes they are going to the Snowbird Classic again. They also play some games down in Fort Myers since the Snowbird is usually loaded with OAC teams which they won't play down there. Usually it gives them some better quality opponents than if they stick exclusively to Port Charlotte.

motorman

Quote from: Dr. Acula on December 14, 2014, 02:13:19 AM
Those February games at Veterans seem to have a high cancellation rate.  I mean, it's February in Ohio!  Turf or no turf it's tough to play.
They are Feb 28 and Mar 1. At least they are making the effort. Coach Fitz has a pretty good relationship with the Paints organization. Maybe it will make a debacle like we had to sit through in the first day in FL last year less likely if the team gets to play up here before the trip south. Doubt I will ever forget that travesty of a double header in 40 degree weather when it is supposed to be warm in FL.

Dr. Acula

I took a look at Mount's schedule OOC and I was happy to see some solid opponents.  They play RHIT and Concordia (IL) in FL.  Up north they have SJF, LaRoche, W&J and Behrend.  Those are at least some decent squads outside the OAC.