So we are underway with the tourny and not much discussion.  I wouldn't mind hearing some predictions.

I am going to stick with my Knights.  I think they will come in swinging and hopefully get some timely pitching. 

Floyd, you can probably speak more to Upper Iowa and Will Penn.  I believe I only played against UI once as a freshmen. 

I hear ya Floyd, but you are talking 15+ years ago.  Just 5 years ago (man time flies) I was pitching in Appleton for the Knights.  I suppose all good things (if you are a Wartburg fan) must come to an end. 

I still expect them to get back to their dominant ways though, maybe not to the extent of 11 in a row. 

You are right though, the IIAC is a pretty balance conference (with the exception of UD and Cornell) and it definitely makes for an exciting season.

Come on Big Poppa, it's been a tough enough year on us Wartburg alum, can't I at least pretend like we have a chance with Watson. HAHA.

As a former Wartburg player it is strange to see BV or anybody else claiming the regular season championship.  When I was there it was not only our goal, but it was just expected that we would find a way to win the thing.  That said, Congrats to BV and lets hope that whomever goes on to represent the IIAC (hopefully Wartburg) in the regional tourny, will do us all proud.  Can't wait to see how the conference tourny plays out, lets all pray for bright blue skies and temps in the 70's.

Floyd, sounds like a case of "the grass is always greener."  I would just like to see Wartburg expand their recruiting to some of the bigger schools around the state.  Wartburg has always lived off of small school talent (nothing wrong with that) but while I was there, the majority of the starters/all-conference guys came from 4A/3A schools (Davenport, Mason City, Burlington, Des Moines, etc.).

B.V. is looking like the have a pretty good stranglehold on the conference at this point, especially if they make it through this weekend.  The Knights are going to have to get a few sweeps and hope that Simpson and most likely Loras can help them out.  Gotta love this time of year with seeing how the conference season is shaping up.

To Floyd:

Sorry it took so long to get back to you.  I am not sure what type of surface they practice on now.  I do know however the new center is a huge upgrade over the old one.  The amount of space is probably the biggest difference as well as being able to have more than one team in there practicing at the same time (not a huge deal, but it sure beats practicing from 9pm-midnight).

I wish I knew what was going on with Wartburg's recruiting/reloading situation.  When I was there (2003-2006) it seemed as if there was never a drop off in talent level. Now it seems to be fluctuating a bit.  Could be that everyone is just catching up to the Knights.  But it does seem to me that Wartburg would benefit from expanding their recruiting area a bit, maybe shoot for some CIML guys versus sticking to the Northeast/Eastern part of the state (I may be a bit biased as I am from Central Iowa).  Just some thoughts tho.

To Floyd:

I am not sure what was/is going on with them.  Could be that they did not see much practice time in the preseason, but you would certainly hope that was not an issue with the new Rec Center.

My guess is that it has a lot to do with experience/youth.  It seems as though they are still searching for their identity; are they a power team, are they a small-ball team, etc.?

The fact still remains that their offense won't matter much if they continue to give up double digit runs to everyone.  I am afraid to even go look at what their team ERA is at this point.  When I was at Wartburg our team ERA was a source of pride for us on the pitching staff and we wanted to make sure we were on top of the conference (though did not always happen). 

Even sweeps over Dubuque and Cornell does not do a lot for Luther, at this point they basically have to sweep the rest of the conference season.

I have been seriously impressed with Wartburg's offense to this point.  I don't know if all of the homeruns are a result of poor pitching/timely hitting or a change in philosophy with the guys that they have now.  Used to be string together hits, steal bases and put pressure on the defense.  Now it would appear that they can sit back and wait for that big inning.

Wartubrg's pitching is still a concern for me.  Shut down a offensively good Central team, then give up a whole lot of runs against Cornell. Should be interesting to see how the Wartbug starters do once they start facing some of the tougher lineups in the conference.

Any predictions changed at this point?  I am a bit concerned about the Knight's slow start.  They have never been known for their stellar pre-conference performances but I would like to see them string together some wins to build some momentum before "nut-cuttin' time."

Thanks everyone for the info on this kid, I did not have the time to do the research myself.  Best of luck to him.

I am not trying to come across as bitter or anything like that.  I just cant stand how much BS plays into the draft game.  I suppose this is why I would never hack it as a scout.  Call me crazy but I think the notion of "because you have a big frame which could lead to some potential I am going to take a chance" does not make much sense.  I would rather use that late pick on a kid who has had to work hard and is a winner, especially when the talent level is there.

Quote from: Ralph Turner on June 11, 2009, 05:32:31 PM

Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on June 11, 2009, 05:04:56 PM

Quote from: wartburgalum on June 11, 2009, 05:01:55 PM

Quote from: infielddad on June 11, 2009, 02:57:33 PM

Quote from: hbp on June 11, 2009, 02:40:02 PM
Someone take Drew Hedman.  I thought he would go in the first 25 rounds...

For anyone who thinks MLB scouts can translate DIII competition to Milb for position players, this pick at #1518 surely should provide answers.  It remains very, very difficult for position players to get drafted because how they perform cannot be measured on a gun. How they perform at a DIII level just does not translate or project to playing Milb, for those who get paid to make those decisions.
Congratulations to all the DIII players/pitchers selected.  Let's hope there are more who get free agent looks and sign very soon.   

I think that an even better gauge of how well scouts do with evaluating talent would be to look at the selection of the Angels in round 41 of Chris Handke of Cornell.  Career ERA of 10.12 with a whopping 21 IP and 11 Ks and 25 walks.  I congratulate the kid and all but I would have to think that there are probably, oh I don't know, at least a thousand more deserving players to at least be given the opportunity of saying they have been drafted.  Can someone please explain to me how something like this can happen. 

My guess would be it was a favor to someone.  A couple of years ago the White Sox spent a low draft pick on Ozzie Guillen's son - the kid didn't even play varsity at North Park!

Or another Wartburg-hater trying to raise the ire of Wartburg alums across the nation.  

Love it.  Thanks for laugh.  At least it makes sense now.

Quote from: infielddad on June 11, 2009, 02:57:33 PM

Quote from: hbp on June 11, 2009, 02:40:02 PM
Someone take Drew Hedman.  I thought he would go in the first 25 rounds...

For anyone who thinks MLB scouts can translate DIII competition to Milb for position players, this pick at #1518 surely should provide answers.  It remains very, very difficult for position players to get drafted because how they perform cannot be measured on a gun. How they perform at a DIII level just does not translate or project to playing Milb, for those who get paid to make those decisions.
Congratulations to all the DIII players/pitchers selected.  Let's hope there are more who get free agent looks and sign very soon.   

I think that an even better gauge of how well scouts do with evaluating talent would be to look at the selection of the Angels in round 41 of Chris Handke of Cornell.  Career ERA of 10.12 with a whopping 21 IP and 11 Ks and 25 walks.  I congratulate the kid and all but I would have to think that there are probably, oh I don't know, at least a thousand more deserving players to at least be given the opportunity of saying they have been drafted.  Can someone please explain to me how something like this can happen. 

Can someone please tell me who Chris Handke is (from Cornell).  I see that he got drafted in the 40th round by the Angels as a RHP (as reported on D3baseball.com).  His stats for his career are 10.12 ERA, 0-1 win/loss record, 21.1 IP, 24 Earned runs, with 11 strikeouts and 25 walks. 

How does something like this happen?  Please explain this to me before my head explodes.  For the life of me I don't think I will ever understand the MLB draft.