BB: SCIAC: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[oldcat]

i like it jack. keep it up. i know its alot of work. thank you for these previews.

[SCIACfan5]

Great stuff Jack. Just a couple of notes:

Zach Mandelblatt of PP was the SCIAC Player of the Year in 2007. Last year, he was injured midway during the season, taking his bat out of the lineup. His injury came right before PP went into their 1-8 record down the road. He still pitched the rest of the season. Expect big things from him in the 2009 season.

As for CMS, Alex Weber-Shapiro, the two-time All-American, transferred to UCLA during the offseason. This kid put up huge numbers the past two seasons, and was only getting better (and bigger). He was a big bat and huge loss for the team. Good luck to Weber-Shapiro competing for UCLA.

[Jack Parkman]

SCIAC fan5-  I didnt know Mandelblatt was injured last year.  If they had him during that stretch, they might have won just one of those games and taken the SCIAC title.

Weber-Shapiro to UCLA?  I thought there was soething on here a few months ago but never did go back and look for it.  Thats a huge loss cause the guy put up some huge numbers.

I will look at Oxy and Whittier tomorrow.

Here is my preview for Cal Tech:

0-21....again.  I am sure they are good guys and are the future leaders of the world but as for baseball, just not gonna get it done.  It would be great to see them break their losing streak in the SCIAC.  Anyone know how many games in a row they have lost in the SCIAC and when their last SCIAC win was?

[Browneagle64]

Awesome  job JP. I've been trying to reply to your previous post, however, as soon as Ive been trying to send it off (my boss usually walks in.lol)

I like the great assessment on the Leo's you made and thank you for pin-pointing the hitting and pitching for them (as you've done for several other SCIAC teams). As you pointed out, with the Loss of Mehl, Marcus, Boucher, the Leo's need to quickly fill in these big shoes. Having had the opportunity in watching the Leo's within the last two years while in grad. school, I can attest to you that these guys were really good parts that made up solid ULV teams. Even so, losing a defensive arm like Mehl at short stop will indeed be a test for the leos.

However, one can only hope that with such stellar seasons within the last two years, good recruiting, and heck of a way to get ULV's name heard at big pro ball stadiums, such as having ads. at Dodger stadium and Angel stadium, other Mehl, Marcus and Boucher like players will take interest.
The pitching Duo of Sweet and Jolly is indeed one of the Top in the SCIAC, yet, one can not forget players such as Wheatly, Diaz and Kamori (Sp?) who have had experience on the mound within the last year. 
IMHO, the Leo's will make a huge run at the SCIAC crown yet again towards mid/ end of the season.

Wow, Shapiro jumping ship was unexpected here in the D3 virtual world. However, like you pointed out and after seeing his numbers since the last couple of years, its understandable why he wanted to leave. I hope, though, that it wasn't because he was tried of being in a program that always started off really hot and then usually crashes during spring break.

Anywho's keep it coming. Look for Cal Lu to be the surprise team pick this year.

[Jack Parkman]

Next up on the list is my preview for OXY.  I know BrownEagle isn't going to like this one too much but what can I say?

Offense

When you first look at the '08 stats for Oxy you notice they hit over .300 as a team but they only won 15 games.  Oxy has a huge hill to climb if they want to turn their program into something other than a below average SCIAC team.

Oxy has some decent hitters coming back in '09 but lost their two best bats from '08.  Coming back for Oxy is Glen Gray who hit a pretty nice .373 with 28 RBI's in '08.  Case Miyahira hit .327 with 11 doubles as a freshman.  Jason Jebbia hit .383 in limited action (60 at bats).  Other than those three, there is not much to write home about.

Oxy is losing Matt Anderson who had a good year hitting .348 with 11 doubles, 5 triples, 4 home runs and 36 RBI.  Anderson was by far the best player for Oxy the past few years.  Also gone is Seth Goss who hit .365 with 11 doubles and 6 home runs in '08.

Pitching

Ughhh, thats about all I can say.  Oxy has been beat up on the mound a lot the past few years.  The good news for '09 is that they have 4 of their main guys coming back...the bad news is the numbers they put up in '08.

Matt Jones and Brooks Belter both won 4 games in '08.  Jones went 4-6 with a 5.05 ERA and Belter was 4-3 with a 5.32 ERA.  Noel Banuelos was 2-5 with a 7.46 ERA and Kiernan Doherty went 2-5 with an 8.01 ERA in '08.  Yikes!

I may seem like I am being hard on Oxy but they have struggled a lot in the recent years.  In 2008 Oxy was 7-3 against La Sierra, Whitman, Lewis and Clark and Cal Tech.  Those 4 schools combined to go approximately (I couldn't find La Sierra's record from '08 but I figured they were around 1-20) 21-107 for a .164 winning percentage.  Oxy went 1-2 against a Whitman team that went 4-36 overall.

Oxy will be with a new leader this year in Jason Hawkins.  Hawkins has his work cut out for him and wasn't able to get a full year of recruiting in.  Hopefully for his sake, Coach Strankman left with some good recruits coming in.

I see Oxy finishing right where they did last year, 7th place.

[baseballroxmysox]

Jack  - GREAT JOB!!!!!!  Thanks for doing this for all us fans    I hope you are able to give us insight throughout the season too.

[Jack Parkman]

No problem at all.  Still have Whittier and Chapman coming up...

[Browneagle64]

Next up on the list is my preview for OXY.  I know BrownEagle isn't going to like this one too much but what can I say?
Offense

You got that right J.P..... I'm not starting to like this one review in particular (Lol. Just kidding) Keep up the great work.

However, just to let you know my Tigers Finish in the top 5 this year (I say #4 or #3 )

[Jack Parkman]

Not so fast BE- http://www.thesciac.org/sports/bsb/2007-08/standings

[Browneagle64]

I was talking about this upcoming season JP.  I have high hopes for Oxy baseball this year with the Addition of Coach Hawkins and Co.

[Jack Parkman]

Oops!  I guess I saw the boss coming and read too fast.

[Browneagle64]

No Worries. I'm looking forward to your review on the Poets and the SCIAC-Co Champs, comparing their stats and possible outcomes. Again, thanks for the insights. As i mentioned to you, I hope this sparks an early interest in SCIAC baseball and get this board popping with guess, critics, fans, gurus et al.  etc.

Early talk of baseball during basketball season, hmm, i like how that sounds.

[BigPoppa]

No Worries. I'm looking forward to your review on the Poets and the SCIAC-Co Champs, comparing their stats and possible outcomes. Again, thanks for the insights. As i mentioned to you, I hope this sparks an early interest in SCIAC baseball and get this board popping with guess, critics, fans, gurus et al.  etc.

Early talk of baseball during basketball season, hmm, i like how that sounds.

Speaking of early talk, I stumbled across MLB's new TV channel, MLBN. It might be the greatest channel ever. Nothing gets me ready for the season like MLB Hot Stove talk. It is also great to see Harold Reynolds back on the air.

[Jack Parkman]

Here is my final preview for the SCIAC.

Whittier has always been a good hitting team, but like most teams in the SCIAC, they lack pitching.  Whittier struggled on the mound in '08 with a 7.11 ERA and had a .330 BA against them.  Whittier lost one of their top arms when Thomas phelps signed with the Orioles.  Unless Whittier brought in some new quality arms, they will once again struggle in 2009.

Offense

Whittier returns one of the best hitters in the SCIAC in Anthony Cappelletti.  Cappelletti put together a very impressive '08 season when he hit .427 with 10 doubles and 11 home runs and 53 RBI.  Also back for Whittier is Brian Carmona.  Carmona hit .379 with 16 doubles and 6 home runs.  Rounding out the top returners for Whittier is John Fugazi.  Fugazi hit a respectable .306 with 8 doubles and 4 triples.  Not a lot of power from Rugazi but he did steal 12 bases.

Whittier loses Charles Acker who had a great '08 season .361 with 12 doubles, 2 triples and 5 home runs.  Whittier will miss Ackers speed after he swiped 19 bases in 21 tries.

Pitching

Whittier will have to replace both Phelps and Blake Luitweiler, who combined for an 8-8 record in 17 starts.  Back for Whitter is Justin Armijo.  Armijo had a rough '08 season posting a 3-6 resord in 13 starts with a 6.45 ERA.  The biggest problem with Armijo is giving up the long ball.  Armijo gave up 12 bombs in 74 innings.  Hitter hit .324 against Armijo in '08.  Whittier also returns Martin Bueno who finished '08 with a 2-3 record and a 6.89 ERA.

Overall Whitter has a lot of work to do on the mound.  Like I mentioned before, Whittier brings back some pretty good bats but needs some help on the bump.  I look for a 6th place finish from the Poets in '09.

[Jack Parkman]

I will do a preview for the "SCIAC Co-Champion" Chapman panther now.  It's no secret that Chapman is the top D-III program in So. Cal, as well as the West region.  Chapman loses a lot but I am sure they will do just fine in bringing in many new faces to keep their tradition rolling.

Offense

Chapman hit .345 as a team in '08 and will lose some guys and bring some back as well.  Every Chapman regular hit over .300 with the exception of one guy.  Chapman returns their top hitter from last year Tristian Phillips.  Phillips hit .394 with 10 doubles and 4 home runs.  Ryan Hall returns after hitting .357 with 7 doubles and one HR.  Patrick O'Hail hit .337 with 9 doubles and 8 hr's.  Ryan Prechtel also returns after hitting .337 with 12 doubles and 2 hr's.

Chapman loses some very potent bats in Mike Vass, Kurt Yacko and Stuart Hyman.  Vass had a monster year hitting .382 with 11 doubles and 14 home runs and added 54 RBI. Vass also stole 18 bases in 24 tries. Yacko was important in the field and on the mound.  Yacko hit .344 with 14 doubles and 10 hr's.  Stuart Hyman hit .373 with 17 doubles and 6 home runs.  These 3 hit 30 home runs, which is more than half of the team total in '08. 

Pitching

Pitching has always been Chapman's top area and they return one of the best in D-III in Wayde Kitchens.  Kitchens was 9-0 in 11 starts last year with a crazy 1.10 ERA.  Kitchens probably would have won more game had he not had an minor injury early in the year.  Also back for Chapman is Jordan Sigman.  Sigman had a great freshman year posting a 10-2 record with a 5.38 ERA.

Chapman loses Ryan Clear and Kurt Yacko.  Clear was 9-2 with a 4.22 ERA in 15 starts.  Yacko is a guy that will be very tough to replace.  Not only was he a great hitter, he was one of the best closers in the country in '08.  Yacko posted a 6-0 record with a .59 ERA.  Yacko had 15 saves and hitters only hit .144 off of him.  Yacko also had 71k's in 61 innings.

All in all, Chapman loses 15 wins from their pitching staff in '08 and returns 25 wins. 

Chapman has dominated So. Cal in the recent years and I look for the same from them this year.  Chapman has too many weapons coming back in '09 to drop from the top spot in So.Cal.


*I will post this in the West Region Independents as well.  Maybe Chakote can add a little insight as well, but it is understandable if he holds back.