I'm don't pretend to know how to translate these new rankings into Pool C selections, but surely it's significant that Rhodes is 5-2 against teams that routank it (1-1 against Emory and Millsaps, 1-0 against Wash U, Illinois Wesleyan, and Methodist).  On the face of it, isn't there a good case to be made for both Rhodes and Millsaps?

Great thanks to Ralph and Frank for answering my request for enlightenment with their recent posts.  Even though no definitive answers are available this week, you have illuminated some important facts and issues.

My position on the change to the single, four-game, weekend series instead of two shorter weekend series against each division rival is not locked in stone.  But in focusing on the possible consequences of that change for pitching, let's not overlook the benefits in terms of reduced travel and fewer days away from class.  Baseball is not an end in itself in schools like ours.  Instead it's an integrated but nonetheless subordinate part of the academic mission of these institutions and of the experience the students on the teams have there.

Frank, Ralph,  . . . Today's Daily Dose column includes Rhodes in Pool C, a solid tenth of fourteen in that category.  That's something to cling to for a Rhodes fan.  Does it strike you as a reliable prediction? What about Millsaps, which is not on DD's list?

CORRECTION: The web site is http://seriousplaythebook.com

The address I left in my previous message will take you to a Lego site--maybe not such a bad thing . . .

I'm down at (gulp) Millsaps helping my son Sam get situated for the fall semester. On Friday afternoon, while Sam was hanging out at the SAE house, I stopped by to introduce myself to (double gulp) veteran baseball coach Jim Page.  He's a huge admirer of the Rhodes baseball team (and, of course, of his own), which made it easy for us to fall into conversation. . . .

Read the rest of the story at http://seriousplay.com, and scroll down to read other entries like "Nicknames," "The Art of Chatter," and "The prose of Livestats."

Re Coach of the Year: Coach Iwasaki is an excellent coach but despite the late-season surge his team's record this year was essentially .500.  Compare that to the record of Rhodes Coach Jeff Cleanthes, whose team has gone from 11 wins to 28 wins to 36 wins in the last three seasons, without his every winning the award.  Everything in its season: Iwasaki's season will come but Cleanthes's season is now.

Does anyone have anything specific to report about the prospects for Millsaps and/or Rhodes receiving a bid to the NCAA regional?  In particular, has anyone calculated the Quality of Win Indices for our teams and their likely competitors for bids?

BTW, if you have a minute, check out blog entries "The Art of Chatter" and "The Prose of Livestat" at http://seriousplaythebook.com

Great thanks to Frank Ezelle for the plug of http:// seriousplaythebook.com.  I just posted another entry (also slightly off beat) from Georgetown but continue to read the SCAC message board avidly.

A request to those of you who visit http://seriousplaythebook.com now and then--please feel free to use the comment function to give me your reactions.   

Friends,

Please check out my new web site-still a work in progress, but a start.

Here's the link: http://seriousplaythebook.com

I guess it's going to be Millsaps v. Austin (#1 seed v. #4 seed) at 1:00 on Friday and Rhodes v. Southwestern (#2 seed v. #3 seed) at 4:30, although there's certainly an argument to be made for seeding Rhodes No. 1, given their 35-8 record and their victory over Millsaps in the one game the two teams played.

How many of those who post on the SCAC board knew how to spell Catalanotto at the start of the season, or even at the modway point of the season.  ChrisCat (and remember, he's Rhodes's No. 3 pitcher) shut down a fine Trinity team on four hits today, adding another complete game to his earlier nine-inning effort against Centre.  His best pitch is the ground ball to shortstop John Robert Bizzell, who had eight assists and four putouts today. 

A couple other things bear mentioning that LiveStat isn't able to capture.  One is how thoroughly Drew Hubbard and Richard Hurd owned every inch of USA Stadium's expansive center and left fields today. The other is how good the Lynx are at hitting the ball to the opposite field.  One would never guess from a scattergram of Rhodes' hits that there's not a single lefthanded hitter in the lineup. 

Can I piggy back onto Frank's question and ask how the process for issuing at-large bids works?  I'm thinking of basic questions like who makes the call, how many slots are there, whether bids can only be in one's region, etc.

Hats off to Trinity for a splendid 9-0 victory today.  Evan Bronson pitched superbly, with able backup from his teammates at bat and on the field.  Maybe I should have realized before I quoted them that Ronald Reagan and even Huey Long were right a good bit of the time!

That said, Rhodes has a stronger pitcher in Chris Catalanotto (5-1, 2.54 ERA) than anyone Trinity can field for Game 3.  Also, Rhodes's pattern this year has been to follow bad days--and there have been a few, even in a 34-8 season--with  good ones.  Poise and resilience have been this team's watchwords all year.

ETG and historymajor may turn out to be right--we'll know soon enough.  But as I read their arguments I'm reminded of a note that Huey Long reportedly scribbled in the margin of one of his speeches: "Weak point.  Holler louder!"

Oops--"how to motivate him and other pitchers" is how the last line of that psot was supposed to read.