BB: MIAC: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[BaseballFan]

I was commenting that this board is being carried by only a few posters and it would be nice to get others involved if possible. Sometimes, a new perspective can really heat things up on a board.

Couldn't agree more. I check the board every day but its no fun just having a private conversation between BaseballFan and myself about the MIAC 

Its a shame Todd Mathison will graduate this year without winning a conf pitcher of the year award (unless the coaches give it to him this year when his stats aren't very great). His first three years at StO were pretty incredible, 9-0 1.40era fr year, 6-0 1.80era soph year, 6-2 2.35era jr year. If he gets another 3 wins this year he'll tie Charlie Ruud for the most Ws in StO program history. He got robbed his freshman year when the coaches gave it to teammate Eric Tobias despite Mathison's better stats (he threw 31+ conf innings without giving up a run, first miac pitcher to do that).

With Adams' slip up against Augsburg and Matt Schuld's 1 hit cg shutout of StO I'd say the pitcher of the year race includes those 2 and MAC's James Murrey.
Player of the year is anyones guess right now.

Does anyone know if Kyle Foster is playing minor league ball anymore? milb.com doesn't have a team listed for him. I couldn't find anything for Andrew Schmiesing from StO, who was drafted by the Twins in '07, is he out as well?

When Todd Mathison was a Freshman and Paul Johnson was a sophomore, I thought the MIAC and the rest of region were in for a long couple years. Unfortunately, Olaf was never able to do much come playoff time due to arm problems and not being able to put together an offense that could produce enough runs.

I think most of the lack of chatter on this board is due to the MIAC being kind of down these last couple years. Its been mainly a 2 horse race  between Olaf and Thomas. Just look at this year, only 3 of 11 teams are over .500.

[HarryDH]

In regards to Schmiessing I heard that he was headed to the Saints.  I'm not sure if it is true, but I talked to someone who said they saw that in one of the local papers.  This playoff run should be pretty interesting in the next couple weeks.  As usual it appears there will be a lot of tie breaker talk as the season comes to a close. 

I took in the second half of the double header between Augsburg and Bethel the other day.  It was not too exciting.  Strong pitching, but overall both teams appeared to have a poor approach at the plate.  Bethel took A LOT of pitches and got themselves in poor hitting counts which might be the reason they scored 1 run the entire day.  Apart from Oesterlin, Churchill and Jay Slick the hitting has not been great as of late.

[dukes]

I too believe I saw that Smeising was going to be playing for St. Paul Saints this year. That is where all the late and great MIAC players end up anyway right?!?!

So, if the MIAC is down, and the WIAC is down, where does that leave the playoff picture for the region.

Why are these leagues down in all your opinions? Poor talent? poor recruiting? are better kids being taken to other places, such as D2 schools or juco? I havent quite figured it out yet.

[BaseballFan]

I too believe I saw that Smeising was going to be playing for St. Paul Saints this year. That is where all the late and great MIAC players end up anyway right?!?!

So, if the MIAC is down, and the WIAC is down, where does that leave the playoff picture for the region.

Why are these leagues down in all your opinions? Poor talent? poor recruiting? are better kids being taken to other places, such as D2 schools or juco? I havent quite figured it out yet.

I think its just part of the natural cycle of things. There will be some years where there are a lot of teams that look great then some years where not many look great.  So it could be all of those reasons that you mentioned above or its just that the talent level of baseball players entering d3 is down.

Im not sure if the rest of the regions are down but the midwest is definately down. Looks like Thomas, Oshkosh, and CSS are the top  3 by far. And I would say that those 3 teams are having down years talent wise compared to previous seasons especially CSS and thomas

[Iluvd3BBALL]

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?

[supermiac]

Speaking of St. Olaf, they got swept today away at Macalester. That makes this conference season a lot more interesting. Along the same lines, Carleton swept St. Johns. After today, the top three in conf. so far are: 1. St. Thomas, 2. Macalester, 3. Carleton...  I don't think anyone saw that one coming. I know it's still relatively early in the conf season and I wouldn't look that far into things, but that's definitely a shake up in the conference dynamics. I think Carleton will have a rough road ahead of them as they still play St. Thomas and St Olaf. However, I don't think it's unreasonable to say Macalester has a pretty good shot at making the playoffs this year with alot of the teams hovering around .500. Nonetheless, today was pretty surprising I'd have to say.

[Iluvd3BBALL]

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.

[Gustie13]

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)
2) Macalaster 8-4 (Games Left: Caleton, Hamline, GAC, Bethel)
3) Carleton 6-4 (Games Left: Mac, St. Thomas, Concordia, Bethel, Olaf)
4) Hamline 7-5 (Games Left: St. Thomas, Macalester, Olaf, Johnnies)
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
Bethel 7-7 (Games Left: Carleton, Macalaster, Concordia)
Gustavus Adolphus 6-6 (Games Left: Augsburg, Olaf, Mac, and Thomas)
St. Olaf 4-4 (Games Left: Concordia, St. Marys, St. Johns, GAC, Hamline, and Caleton)
St. Johns 5-7 (Games Left: Augsburg, Olaf, Concordia, Hamline)
Concordia 3-5 (Games Left: Olaf, Bethel, Marys, Carleton, Johnnies, Augsburg)
St. Marys 1-13 (Games Left: St. Olaf, Concordia, St. Thomas)

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.

St Olaf sure didn't do themselves a favor splitting with Concordia yesterday. Now at 5-5 they need to buckle down against the middle/bottom of the conference or risk missing out on the playoffs for the first time since its inception. I think its a very real possibility that they'll miss out; they're starting pitching has really let them down in conference, team era of 6.00 won't get it done. 

I think the middle of the conference is pretty wide-open/even. Con, Car, BU, Aug, Ham, and GAC are all pretty close to one another, imo.
I won't count GAC out until the end. I didn't think they had it in them to make the playoffs last year but they proved me wrong. I hope they do it again this year.

I thought SMU had a real chance to be the first team to go 0-20 in conference but I guess they'll have to settle for a tie with the worst conf record ever.

I'm not too surprised to hear schmiessing didn't make it with the Twins. It seemed like he got drafted more on athletic ability.

[BaseballFan]

Things are much closer after yesterdays games

Carleton has a good chance to win MIAC regular season if they sweep Thomas this weekend.
Loss for thomas sure didnt help them in getting a #1 seed for the regional, every game matters (even though I think CSS is in front of them anyways)

[Gustie13]

I don't think USt is too worried about Carleton sweeping them.

SMU, Con, and SJU are out of the playoff race, GAC is hanging on by a thread.

StO can't afford to get swept with their #3 and #4 pitchers like they did against MAC or they'll be in serious trouble.

[BaseballFan]

I don't think USt is too worried about Carleton sweeping them.

SMU, Con, and SJU are out of the playoff race, GAC is hanging on by a thread.

StO can't afford to get swept with their #3 and #4 pitchers like they did against MAC or they'll be in serious trouble.

Yea they normally wouldnt worry but they just lost 9-1 to Hamline with their ace on the mound, and i think Hamline is average.

[Gustie13]

Yea they normally wouldnt worry but they just lost 9-1 to Hamline with their ace on the mound

Ah, the box scores weren't up when I checked the HU-USt scores, didn't realize it was Schuld that took the L. I could see a split, maybe, from Carleton, but I still think a sweep would be pretty incredible.


Anybody have any thoughts on the Player/Pitcher OYs? Player is pretty wide open, if you ask me. My finalists would be:

T Osterlin (BU)
K Johnson (CON)
C Jones (StO)
D Kaczrowski (HU)

I'd say Pitcher OY would have to be Adams or Murrey, with Adams the heavy favorite.

[BaseballFan]

Murrey or Adams for pitcher think it will be actually pretty close
Conference Stats
Murrey 2-1 0.43 29-0 K-B
Adams 5-1 1.63 33-5 K-B

I think Adams gets the edge simply because he start 3 more games than Murrey and won them.

Either Jones or Oesterlin for Player

Kaczrowski is no where no close to winning player of the year, he will barely make 1st team all MIAC. Very disappointing year for him in my opinion.

[Gustie13]

I agree Kacz's stats are disappointing, but he's still going to lead the conf in stolen bases, finish 2nd or 3rd in runs, and hit around .400, so I think he gets in the discussion. Plus, he was hyped in the preseason and the coaches pay attention to that.

If K Johnson had more RBIs I think he'd be the favorite, but 11 RBIs for a guy with 10 xbh in conf is pretty poor. I haven't watched any CON games, I'm assuming he just hasn't had a lot of opportunities to drive in runs. His slugging percentage is light years ahead of other people.

Yeah, i've been surprised with how little Murrey has pitched. Usually a team like MAC (or CAR, BU, HAM, etc) will ride a star pitcher, but Murrey has only started 3 of MACs 14 games (Adams has started 6 of BUs 16 games).
You left out innings pitched, which makes Murrey's Ks look more impressive!
Murrey 29k 21 ip     .184 opp ba
Adams 33k 38.1 ip  .200 opp ba

[BaseballFan]

He will be at the top in runs and SB. But right now he is 19th in BA among guys starting ~10 games. He only has 5 RBIs kind of expected for a leadoff hitter but only 4 extra base hits and is behind a lot of guys in Slugging and OB %s. His preseason accolades may help him, but could hurt him because he was overhyped.

I just have a feeling that Johnson will win it witht those 6hrs (they need to get on base for him)