Coach of the year.

While its nice to see the SCAC improve (welcome Austin and look for Oglelthorpe to improve next year) I agree that Coach Cleanthes got hosed two years in a row. If you look at exceeding expectations as a prerequisite how does having the most improved D3 team in the NATION in 2006 not qualify you as coach of the year in the SCAC?

Being overlooked in 06 was ridiculous, then its compounded by another snub in 2007. Heck, in 2005 this team was terrible ( 11 wins and alot of losses) and somewhere late in 07 they are ranked 25th in the nation. All on Cleanthes' and his assistants recruits.

No one says life if fair but if Cleanthes can't get the vote than I am not sure anyone should.

Whats a guy got to do, go 50 and 0 and hope that's enough to beat out a team that goes 500. 

Bottom line is you better win the SCAC tournament or it looks like you are going home. Lets prepare for next year and take care of business. All this other stuff seems pretty silly.

Debate all you want. Cleanthes deserves some recognition and should have gotten Coach of the Year  in either 06 or 07.

Hopefully Game tracker will work for the balance of the tournament. Right now Rhodes has played two innings vs. SWest and Game Tracker is not working. No way for us out of towners to follow SCAC action this weekend without it.

Mr Baseball Fan...did you care to comment on the Rhodes victory over Washington on Saturday or the night cap victory over Emory on Sunday? If Rhodes is a little league team with its head cut off what does that make # 10 and #3 in the country. In case you did not notice, Rhodes beat them.

Congrats to the Lynx on taking two of three from 2 top 10 ranked schools. Enjoy the victories but lets go to work on what went wrong during game two this weekend. If it had to happen , you picked a good time to get that out of your system.

You guys are well positioned for a strong run in to the playoffs. Your fans are proud of your accomplishments to date and expect nothing but the best from you going forward.

Go get him DOC.

I personally think every team benefits as the individual SCAC teams improve. This current roster of Rhodes players has done better than any Rhodes team in school history. Congratulations are in order.

After watching Ogelthorpe vs Rhodes I kept thinking how similar Ogelthorpe is now to the Rhodes team of 2 years ago. Best of luck to them as I think they will prove to be a formidable competitor sooner rather than later.

This new and improved Rhodes team is a result of good coaching, good recruiting and good attitude. A little respect would be nice rather than negative comments, but the world is unfortunately a predictable place.

Best of luck to all SCAC teams in the upcoming playoffs. I am looking forward to some really good baseball.

As long as we are limited to discussing conference races, let's look at Rhodes in Conference record..... 14 wins and 2 losses....sounds pretty darn good to me....No speculation needed here....Whoever the SCAC East put in front of Rhodes they managed to take care of business....And it was more than Holt or Flanagan being dominant....Last time I looked hitting and defense play a part in winning baseball games....these are 2 aspects of the game Rhodes does quite well....even for an "East" team...

If I may break blog protocal and discuss the overall record for Rhodes....29 wins and 4 losses is none to shabby either....congratulations to a fine group of young men who have set (and will shatter) a school record of 28 wins....

Their next biggest challenge lies in front of them and they are well focused on the job that is yet to be done....GO LYNX

Friday night result: Rhodes 7 Centre 3.

Holt went 8 complete with one earned. Threw right around 100 pitches.

One interesting thing to note about their # of innings... Holt and Flanagan are racking up innings but the coaches have a leash on them when it comes to the number of pitches thrown.

Both pitchers are always around the plate and remarkably efficient. Their games tend to go very quickly with out a lot of wasted pitches. Yes there are the occasional long innings but when Flanny or Holt pitch I always have plenty of time to catch my flight out of Memphis.

Rhodes played a nice game vs. Ill-Wesleyan coming out on top 7-5. They continue to get consistent production through out the lineup. A double-double this weekend vs Depauw will answer the questions regarding depth.

Lynx defeat Illinois Wesleyan 7-5
03/21/07--- The Rhodes Baseball team defeated Illinois Wesleyan this afternoon 7-5. Junior Robert Flanagan picked up the victory coming out of the bullpen, pitching 3 innings, giving up 1 hit, and striking out 5. Flanagan is now 8-0 on the year. Sophomore Charles Simmons picked up his 6th save of the year pitching one inning and striking out 1. Sophomore Drew Hubbard was 2-3 with a double and a walk. Junior Matt Beesley hit a 2 run homerun in the 3rd to put the Lynx up 5-2. Juniors Richard Hurd and Daniel Vanaman were both 2-4 on the day. Hurd had 1 RBI, while Vanaman had 2 RBI's and a run scored.

My speculation on why Flanigan (or any one else) chooses Rhodes College;

Parents want their sons to get a world class education.

Rhodes has a georgous campus on the outskirts of a great American City.

Coach Cleanthes and Coach Schrier are very good coaches, genuinely interested in your sons personal advancement, and excellent recruiters.

The opportunity to contribute immediately is available if you are good enough.

Everyone wants to win while applying the proper perspective.

I could go on for a while but I think you get the general idea. After a visit or two you just walk away with the right feeling about the Rhodes experience. And the best part now is all the hard work is paying off on the field as well.

Arguably Holt did not live up to expectations as a freshman but he is a gamer with excellent composure. Simply put, his off season dedication and commitment to the game are two of the reasons why he has improved over last year. Confidence in your defense can never be over rated either.

Look for Rhodes to finish strong . Flanagan and Holt are both quality pitchers who can go very deep every time out. Simmons and Catalanato add considerable depth to the staff and are getting better with each outing. Solid defense around the diamond helps keep them in every game and a surprisingly mature approach at the plate 1-9 keeps consistent pressure on opposing pitchers.

The next two weekends are big for the Lynx. Depaw and Centre. If needed, I expect help from Oglethorpe as they are a quality opponent who will add depth to the east side for a couple of years.