Can't believe we haven't heard anyone questioning the 4th down half back pass with the game on the line!  STU QB was putting balls on the money all day it seemed, he didn't complete many since Flaherty seemed to be breaking up passes all day, but seriously with the game on the line you think you'd put the ball on the arm of your teams best passer and not think on 4th and 8 the defense will bite hard on a sweep.  Just my thoughts, seeing what you all think.

You know why I'm not hyped on the Oles right now.....It's because they're probably a lock for the 2 or 3 slot and everybody knows it.  St. Thomas will roll this year and it will be the same as every year with St. Olaf falling in then the 3/4 slots will go to the 12-8 team.  Good split for them though, It's always fun to beat a WIAC school.

Who cares about the Oles....How are we not on the Murrey getting drafted bandwagon?  That guy is lights out, throws high 80's with just dirty off speed.  He's pitcher of the year no doubt!

Who would round out the best at their positions for the MIAC?

Pitcher
Catcher
1b
2b
3b
ss

of
of
of

coach

ya who are the kids on the team like that?

1) Oakes.... decent pitcher though.
2) I know that Terry Ryan's kid was
3) Who else?

I agree, I still think I want to take in that game anyways.  I think St. Thomas should handle the UofM's sorry excuse for a program.  Why can't they get the best players in the state to stick around?

Love it!  Can't wait to start taking in games this week.

I'll take the Tommies again even with Denning retiring.  You can't ever count out St. Olaf either, they always seem to put it together with what they have and they are usually built around strong pitching with hitters that can get the job done.  Mac with Murray returning could poise a very strong season as long as they can keep putting moon shots out of their park....side note:  What idiot decided to build a stadium looking like that, was it all on a budget?  Bethel could be good this year, they are always a team with high hopes that seems to fall short.  With Adams leaving that leaves a strong void to fill, who knows if they got what it takes.  They have a very good sophmore catcher in J Slick who is by far the best player they have and possibly the best in the MIAC.  Carleton was a fluke last year, St. Mary's will still be bad, you never know about Concordia or GAC especially under Carroll.  I always like Hamline and Verdugo and what can you really say about Augsburg? 

Pitcher of the Year: Murray (sp?)
Player of the Year: Jay Slick
Coach of they Year: New St. Thomas Coach
MIAC Champions: St. Thomas

OK, I just spend some time figuring all this out bored at work today......these are my predictions, as I see the remainder of the schedule played out......

Currently Standings
1) St. Thomas 10-2 (Games Left: Hamline, Carleton, St. Marys, GAC)
St. Thomas will win the league, they may drop 1 game in there, but they should sweep the remainder of their schedule if they play as they have been, but you never know, you can drop a game to anyone at any time in this conf. this year if ur not careful.

2) Macalaster 8-4 (Games Left: Caleton, Hamline, GAC, Bethel)
Mac needs to Murrey to pitch as much as possible for them to get in in my opinion.  For them to for sure get in they are going to need to win 5 of their remaining 8 games, I'm not sure if they have the depth to get it done.  They have a decent chance though as they are 8-4 after getting through Thomas and Olaf and the remaing teams have been up and down all year.

3) Carleton 6-4 (Games Left: Mac, St. Thomas, Concordia, Bethel, Olaf)
Carleton will not make the playoffs.  At best they split with Macalaster, Concordia, and Bethel and get swept by Olaf and Thomas.  They may finish 12-8, but that is a long shot for them and still in the past 12-8 isn't a shoe in either.

4) Hamline 7-5 (Games Left: St. Thomas, Macalester, Olaf, Johnnies)
Hamline, in my opinion, doesn't have the pitching to get them to the playoffs this year.  Their pitching staff is so young, but their offense will win them some games.  Prediction: Swept by Thomas, Olaf, split with Mac and St. Johns.

5) Augsburg 7-7 (Games Left: St. Johns, GAC, Concordia)
Augsburg could run the table and go to 13-7 which should guarantee them a spot in the playoffs, but GAC is still in the hunt and could take 1 or 2 from them.  They could also split with every team too which would put them out of contention.  They need to sweep to guarantee themselves a spot in the playoffs.

Bethel 7-7 (Games Left: Carleton, Macalaster, Concordia)
Bethel has a legitimate shot of making the playoffs for the first time since 2000.  However, after starting the season out 4-1 against Thomas, Hamline, and Olaf they have been swept by Augsburg and have split with every other team also giving Mary's their first win of the season.  For Bethel to for sure make playoffs they must win out, which is a great possibility since they are going to be playing Carleton, Macalaster, and Concordia, all teams that they swept last year.  If they drop 1 game in there, it would be a 50:50 shot at 12-8.

Gustavus Adolphus 6-6 (Games Left: Augsburg, Olaf, Mac, and Thomas)
Gustavus will not be making the playoffs this year.  At 6-6 with Thomas and Olaf left not to mention Augsburg they will be lucky to break .500 this year.

St. Olaf 4-4 (Games Left: Concordia, St. Marys, St. Johns, GAC, Hamline, and Caleton)
Olaf has a bunch of games left to play.  They still have Matheson and Agnenberg (sp?) and I would hang my hat on those two bringing Olaf back to the playoffs again.

St. Johns 5-7 (Games Left: Augsburg, Olaf, Concordia, Hamline)
St. Johns has to win out to guarantee themselves a playoff spot.  I don't see that happening as they still have to play Olaf and Augsburg.  They lose 2 their done for sure, they lose 1 its a coin flip.

Concordia 3-5 (Games Left: Olaf, Bethel, Marys, Carleton, Johnnies, Augsburg)
I can't see Concordia making a run to get to the playoffs this year.  They still have to play tough teams and they can only lose 2 games in there to guarantee themselves a playoff spot.  They should get swept by Olaf, and at best split with the remaining teams in my opinion.  I don't see them doing any better than that.

St. Marys 1-13 (Games Left: St. Olaf, Concordia, St. Thomas)
Congratulation to Marys for beating Bethel....that is the only game they should win all year.

My Predictions
1) St Thomas 17-3
2) St. Olaf 14-6
3) Bethel 13-7
4) Mac 13-7
5) Augsburg 12-8
6) Hamline 9-11
7) GAC 8-12
    Johnnies 8-12
    Concordia 8-12
    Carleton 8-12
11) St. Marys 1-19

Let me know what you think.  The math might not add up, I did it all in my head.  There will be a fight for that 3rd and 4th playoff spot.

I think the races this year will be better than in years past.  There are so many teams still in the mix and coming down to the last 8 games we'll see quite a bit how it will all shape up.  By tomorrow night I think we'll see some front runners emerge and other teams drop off a bit.  As far as Bethel goes, there still in the race and have a weak 2nd half of the schedule.

I also heard Schmiesing is playing with the Saints this summer as his stats down in Fl weren't that great.  I also heard Kyle Foster is goign to be playing for them again too, I guess he was cut from the Sox organization.  I've also seen him around Hamline lately working with their very young pitching staff.

Where do you guys think GAC will end up when all is said and done, and will there be a surprise team making a move here in the next 2 weeks?

I think people should start taking a look at Bethel this year.  They are 6-1 against regional opponents, but in conference they are 3-1 against St. Thomas and Hamline who they were 1-3 against last year.  This year they have Jay Slick and Tim Oesterlin who are 1,2 in batting average for the overall season for the MIAC and Travis Adams is starting to find his groove.  In his first 2 conference starts he has pitched shutout complete games against St. Thomas and Hamline.  I can't think of a pitcher who has done that lately.  I can see how we should be skeptical of them, since they have been so hit or miss the last few years, but I think this could be a surprise year for them.

Quote from: Gustie13 on February 12, 2009, 09:21:00 AM
On another note, there are two pitchers from last years HU team that I don't see on the roster this season: Andrew Beltowsky and Dominic Chenois. Neither was listed as a sr last year, anyone know why these two wouldn't be out again this year? They would have been two of HU's most experienced pitchers, instead, HU started 2 soph's against North Central.

It will be interesting to see how Hamline's pitching holds up this season as there is no senior pitcher on their roster like you said.  I played against Kent Huls this summer in the CVL and he is a pretty decent pitcher who had decent stuff for being a freshman.  Anyone know if he is going to be their #1?  Tough loss in losing Beltowsky and Chenois if that's the case.  Congrats to Kent though from a fellow CVL member for pitching in both games on Tuesday night.

Quote from: OshDude on February 11, 2009, 10:39:30 AM

Quote from: Iluvd3BBALL on February 09, 2009, 03:06:57 PM
It'll be fun to get the MIAC underway tomorrow night when Hamline plays North Central at the Dome.  I'm excited to watch Kazcrowski(sp?) play and interested to see if he'll be as good as people say especially without Bennett hitting behind him.  I'm sure he'll be as good as people say he is after dominating this summer in the Chicago League, but it will be interesting to see if teams approach him differently and pitch around him in the MIAC this  spring due to the fact that Bennett isn't hitting right behind him.  One other thing....Where did he come from, I know he is from St. Anthony, but I never heard of him in High School...just a late bloomer or what?

So, what did you think of Dan Kaczrowski? You'd think 7-for-9, 6 RBI, 6 R, 2 2B and an HR would be impressive enough.
Too bad Hamline could do what Bethany did against North Central – toss a no-hitter. A one-hitter will do just fine, though.
HU/NCC Game 1 box, Game 2 box

Yes 7 for 9 with a bomb , 6rbi's etc. is very solid, but you have to remember that playing North Central is basically taking batting practice from your coach.  Didn't they only have like 14 players on their team?  Congrats to Kaczrowski for doing so well, but I can't just look at this game do draw conclusions....Cmon, my HS team could beat North Central.  That is a solid game though.

It'll be fun to get the MIAC underway tomorrow night when Hamline plays North Central at the Dome.  I'm excited to watch Kazcrowski(sp?) play and interested to see if he'll be as good as people say especially without Bennett hitting behind him.  I'm sure he'll be as good as people say he is after dominating this summer in the Chicago League, but it will be interesting to see if teams approach him differently and pitch around him in the MIAC this  spring due to the fact that Bennett isn't hitting right behind him.  One other thing....Where did he come from, I know he is from St. Anthony, but I never heard of him in High School...just a late bloomer or what?

I don't know if you all heard about the MIAC holding opening weekend at the Metrodome? I'm not sure what I think about that, I can see both sides in that it will guarantee all games getting played, but it also means giving up some teams' home games...What do you think about it?  Here is what the schedule looks like.

3/27/2009  Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg
3/27/2009  Macalester vs. Saint John's
3/28/2009  Hamline vs. Carleton
3/28/2009  Gustavus vs. Concordia
3/28/2009  Bethel vs. St. Thomas

It should be fun to catch some of those games, but teams like Mary's, Mac, Hamline, GAC, and Bethel all give up home field advantage.

What do we have for preseason MIAC rankings by team?  There's usually 3 tiers in the MIAC with STU, STO, Hamline in tier 1. With Bethel, Concordia, GAC, Augsburg in tier 2. and MAC, SMU, Carleton in tier 3....how do you think it will finish out this year?