BB: NCAC: North Coast Athletic Conference

[Spence]

I knew the Wooster people would be bragging it up, so I brought up the obvious before there could be six posts about how Wooster's such hot stuff. I still don't think they've been opposed by an ace starting pitcher of a solid team all year.

I love how all the Wooster fans are crowing about this.

That's right, our team has lost 1 game all year so we're supposed to just shut up and not get excited about a good season.  Makes a whole lot of sense.  How would your beloved OAC teams done against Kent State?  Why are they not scheduling the DI teams?  You're absolutely ignorant.   
What should I expect from a weather man when weather men/women are wrong 50% of the time.
I know KSU and OSU are not going to throw their ace mid week against a DIII team but their still a team full of DI guys that are on a DI team for a reason.  Just as Wooster has a team full of DIII guys for a reason. 

Otterbein did schedule Ohio as their first game of the year, but threw a whole staff game as did Ohio. I don't really see a reason to schedule D-I teams to be honest; you know you're not going to get their best effort, it's not going to help you in D-III as far as postseason.

I resent your implication that D-I players are inherently superior to D-III ones, even if they're on a mediocre team.

[Spence]

Because Wooster is the only team to EVER underachieve once they got to the post-season.  Yep..that's it.

Because this board was so accepting of my analysis last year which turned out to be dead solid 100% perfect.

[ScotsFan]

Because Wooster is the only team to EVER underachieve once they got to the post-season.  Yep..that's it.

Because this board was so accepting of my analysis last year which turned out to be dead solid 100% perfect.

What's that saying about a blind squirrel??

[countyroad]

Did you notice how Otterbein scheduled Wooster on the 24th?  Otterbein is coming off 3 days rest while Wooster has 1 day of rest following back to back doubleheaders. 

[ScotsFan]

Allow me to beat Spence to the punch, but I'm sure he will still say that it is Wooster's advantage because Ott has a conference DH the next day vs. Northern.  So, obviously the evil geniuses at Wooster schemed once again to get the schedule in their favor?

The biggest thing that irks me about Spence's constant whining is that he is whining about regular season nonconference games!!!  Do they really have that much significance?  I guess when you're talking regional rankings, they might have some impact, but, given the fact that there is no longer home field in the playoffs with RHIT seeming to be the hosts year in and year out, those rankings really don't mean a whole lot IMO!  And if these teams were half as worried about this as Spence seems to be, they always have the option of not putting Wooster on the shedule!!!  It's not like Wooster is forcing these OAC teams to put them on their schedules!!!  Please! Give it a rest already!!!

The bottom line is that these OAC teams should not be worried too much with whether or not they lose to Wooster in the regular season (which I'm quite positive that Spence does enough for everyone  )!  They should only be focused on the OAC.  Beating Wooster isn't going to get them a ticket into the post-season.  There is only one way to do that and that is winning the OAC tournament.  All the other playoff contenders can do is wait and see if they get a pool C.  With that said, your constant whining about the subject of Wooster and their so-called unfair scheduling tactics is getting really really tired!!!

With the expanded tournament field, my guess would be that there is a high probability of the OAC still getting 2 teams into the tournament.  Right now, I would say, IMO that there are basically 3 teams fighting for those 2 spots and that would include Ott, 'Etta and the Berg.  My hunch would be that whomever makes the conference finals should be in, unless it's someone other than the 3 favorites.  That is why seeding is going to be huge for the OAC.  Two of these three are going to have to faceoff in the conference semis with the loser likely done.  Whoever comes out on top of the OAC regular season will have a decided advantage in their road to the NCAA's.

[Spence]

Woohoo! -100!

(steps up to the microphone after getting his -100th karma point)...

"I'd like to thank all the members of the NCAC message board for making this honor possible, and for contributing greatly to this milestone of negative karma. I hope they'll support me in my quest for -200."

OK now that that's done...

Decent point I guess on it not really mattering that much. But it does matter for seeding and in a 7 team tournament, in spite of it not really bearing itself out that way so far, on paper the 1 seed is a big deal. IMO the Mideast regional #1 seed should be an open race between four pretty good candidates. In reality, it's already decided unless Wooster suffers a ridiculous collapse that I'm not really waiting for.

The weak conference schedule issue has been one for YEARS where NCAC teams were concerned. Even when Wooster, Allegheny and OWU were all pretty good they still had all those other schools to fatten up on. Hiram went from a bottom feeder in the OAC to middle of the road in the NCAC when they switched conferences. That's all you need to know, really, about the depth of the two conferences. You can play the 8th place team in the OAC and still have your hands full; you can play the 8th place team in the NCAC with your junior varsity if you're a regional-caliber team. True in basketball as well. That's why I'm always wary of big numbers by someone in that conference; sometimes they back them up (Allegheny '95, Wooster '97, late 90s/early 00s Ohio Wesleyan even though they never made the series on account of being the unluckiest team I think I have ever seen), others not.

Let me ask this question: before the season started, based on games that have actually been played, how many losses would you have thought  Wooster might have at this point? The absolute highest number of D-III losses I would have given them is 4 (Heidelberg, UWSP, Rowan and Messiah) with 2 of those being games they most likely still should win. Rowan has turned out to be not their normal selves, but before the year I would have though Rowan was capable of a win. My point is they basically had scheduled no worse than about a 25-4.

[old scot]

First time poster.
Spence, why are you so jaded by Wooster baseball? Take pride in the fact that Marietta will be the benchmark of DIII baseball in Ohio until a school equals or exceeds their 4 titles.
As far as scheduling goes, I'm sure the coaches tell the AD's who they would like to play. The AD's are responsible to fill in the dates. When doing this I'm sure they are not looking for favorable pitching match-ups. So what if my #1 goes against your#4, its a baseball season. Put your best available team on the field and play the game. Every coach would like to trot their horse out to the mound every game but baseball doesn't work that way.
Wooster is probably over rated when it comes to the polls. I can't understand how a team goes from the 15th rung on the ladder to the first without touching another on the way up. The NCAA tourney will work that out. Remember, stats, polls, W's and L's mean nothing come tourney time. The championship is won on the field.

[Spence]

I don't think the ADs have much in scheduling, honestly.

The wins and losses and rankings do matter in seedings (some disagree, but I think there's pretty demonstrable evidence) and are also used in recruiting. I'm sure Wooster's freshmen heard all last season about how Wooster was #1, how they were tops in the region. Just one problem; they never were the best team. They weren't second or third either. I'm sure their recruits this year are hearing the same thing. One of these days, they might actually live up to it if they keep getting great recruits based on their inflated rankings.

It also matters if Wooster would happen to somehow not win the NCAC. They've already got a ticket punched to the regional for being 29-1 and playing about five games that weren't automatic W's. Wabash is probably the worst team any of the regional contenders have lost to since early March, but that doesn't matter. So, in that scenario, Wooster would in that case take away a bid from someone else even though they would have done very little to show that they belong.

As for why I dislike Wooster, how long a list would you like? Really doesn't matter, as there's no way I'm putting it out on here. I'd probably get banned. Let's just say Wooster and Marietta are opposites in about every way they can be opposites.

[old scot]

Spence,
I beleave national championships will sell a recruit more so than we where ranked #1.
I would like to hear why you dislike Wooster so much. Wooster's program is trying to get to where Marietta's program is.
I agree that the OAC is a stronger conference but you can't blame Wooster for a weak NCAC.

[Spence]

I hope you're right about the national title vs. #1! I would anticipate a bump in recruiting on that, but the hay was in the barn on last year's class before the Series.

[ScotsFan]

As for why I dislike Wooster, how long a list would you like? Really doesn't matter, as there's no way I'm putting it out on here. I'd probably get banned. Let's just say Wooster and Marietta are opposites in about every way they can be opposites.

Sounds to me like you need some help?!   Maybe a visit to the local shrink for a couch session is in order for you. 

Wabash is probably the worst team any of the regional contenders have lost to since early March, but that doesn't matter.

This just shows your blind hatred towards Wooster and how you put no evidence to back up such a rediculous statement as that!!!  Since you did say early March, I took the liberty to check your opinion. 

In terms of regional contenders, I am just considering Ott, 'Etta and the Berg even though one could throw in Transy as a regional contender out of the HCAC (and an opponent that Wooster beat earlier in the year that you failed to mention as a quality win).  Starting with the preseason #1 team in the nation Otterbein, they didn't take long to not live up to their billing falling to perrenial bottom feeder Case who barely had enough bodies to field a team!  I would say that qualifies as a worse loss than Wabash!  Moving on to the Berg, they lost to Defiance who are just 10-18 overall.  It could very easily be argued that is a worse loss than Wooster losing to Wabash.  While 'Etta may not have as bad a loss as Wabash, losing to Cap and Wilmington is hardly anything to be proud of. 

And as far as Wabash being such a bad team, I think you are making the mistake of going by record alone.  They may be 10 games under 0.500, but 10 of their losses have been by 2 runs or less and 6 of their losses have been by a single run.  So it's not like they aren't competive!

Here's a thought.  Try putting up some facts to back some of your derogatory statements towards Wooster instead of continuing to spew them out like they are fact!

Lastly,

Woohoo! -100!

(steps up to the microphone after getting his -100th karma point)...

"I'd like to thank all the members of the NCAC message board for making this honor possible, and for contributing greatly to this milestone of negative karma. I hope they'll support me in my quest for -200."

While I'm sure that most of your negative karma points come from right here in the NCAC board (through no fault but your own mind you), I know too that you have done quite well in offending members of the D3baseball community outside of the NCAC board to help in amassing such a fine accomplishment.

[Spence]

I find it positively hilarious that you down me for lack of facts, then proceed to be wrong on almost everything.

I guess you don't consider March 10 early March to bring up the Case/Ott game. Get a calendar. Strange things happen early in the season sometimes.

Defiance is in a better conference than Wabash and has a better record. Defiance also has two wins over Rose-Hulman, one over Manchester, one over Mount St. Joseph. They don't have a great record nor have they played nationally-ranked caliber competition, but they really haven't played very many poor teams at all. Wabash didn't have a win over anyone as good as any of those 4 wins above before Wooster. Their top win would have been against Wittenberg or North Park I guess. Sorry, I don't care if you've played games within 1 or 2 runs, 11-21 and 4-9 in a mediocre conference isn't very good.

I'm still on the fence on Transy. I guess it's a decent win, but still unsure that their pitching is good enough to get them anything. They're only 3-4 in April and haven't allowed less than 5 runs in any of those games. They do have some decent wins, but most of them are of the slugfest variety that don't really get much mileage down the line in my experience. They started 13-3 against mostly middling opponents. Since then, they're 6-5 with 3 of those wins coming over Anderson.

You really show your lack of research in denigrating Capital. Capital split with Averett, Otterbein, Heidelberg, Marietta, and just beat Washington & Jefferson. They played a very challenging non-conference schedule, one of if not the best in the region. 10 of their 13 losses are by two runs or less, to borrow your stat, only they're 13-13 and have played very good opponents. If they can stand prosperity against the second division of the conference, they stand a good chance to be in the conference tournament. They've got three wins in six days over nationally ranked teams!

Is all of that enough facts for your tastes?

Wilmington is the L to pick on if there is one for Marietta. WILM can hit and field the baseball well, but their pitching is hit or miss; George in particular because of his control issues. When it's hit though, they can be tough. Didn't say it was anything to write home about, but they're definitely better than Wabash, which is all I did say. Wilmington would most likely be in the division series in the NCAC West and would be nearly a lock in the East.

Here's a thought to counter your thought. When you present demonstrably incorrect opinions you think are facts after chastising someone for their lack of facts, you look like a real dope.

[old scot]

Does anyone know what happened to Wooster's Mike Barone? Noticed he is not on this years roster. I beleave this would be his senior year. Seemed to be a pretty decent player for them for 3 years.

[woosterbooster]

Wooster got the bats going on a beautiful day in Hiram (oxymoron alert) and downed the Pups 14-1 and 24-3.  Imagine the lacing they'd have put on an OAC team such as Marietta; they'd probably have put 60 or 70 runs on the board and sent them home crying.

Left field in Hiram slopes downward to the outfield fence.  Neither line even has a foul pole.  The dugouts are not large enough to hold a full team of players so about a third of them must sit on an added bench further down the baseline.  The "press box" is a card table under an awning.  There is no refreshment stand.  One can only hope that after nicely updating their indoor facility that the baseball field will be next in line.  And to the guys announcing the game: is it necessary to blare loud music between every batter?  C'mon, this is baseball, allow a little peace, quiet, and conversation!

If I'm remembering this correctly, Wooster has added two games for next Sunday: Marietta at Otterbein followed by Otterbein at Otterbein.  The Otterbein game, according to the Otterbein website, is slated for a 4 PM start.  No doubt both schools (and I use the term lightly) were bullied into playing these games by those at Wooster, and I feel for them, I really do.

[Li'l Giant]

And to the guys announcing the game: is it necessary to blare loud music between every batter?  C'mon, this is baseball, allow a little peace, quiet, and conversation!

I'm glad I'm not the only one annoyed by this practice. I have seen 4 games of local schools at 4 different facilities this year and they all do the same crap. It's like being at an NBA game. Blech.