BB: CCIW: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[voiceofseason]

I'm not very active in the baseball arena so I'm asking the baseball "experts."
What team has been the biggest surprise in terms of exceeding expectations so far this season, and which is the biggest disappointment as far as not living up to pre-season expectations?

I'm far from an expert, but I'd have to say Elmhurst on the upside, Carthage on the downside.

I'd have to agree. I saw Elmhurst as the 6th or 7th CCIW team and Carthage as the second best behind NPU. That's why they play the games!

I concur as well.  I haven't seen Elmhurst yet, but will get that opportunity in a couple weeks.

I've never been to their field?  Should they end up winning the regular season, is it a good place to host the tournament?

[Viking Blue]

I'm not very active in the baseball arena so I'm asking the baseball "experts."
What team has been the biggest surprise in terms of exceeding expectations so far this season, and which is the biggest disappointment as far as not living up to pre-season expectations?

I'm far from an expert, but I'd have to say Elmhurst on the upside, Carthage on the downside.

I'd have to agree. I saw Elmhurst as the 6th or 7th CCIW team and Carthage as the second best behind NPU. That's why they play the games!

I concur as well.  I haven't seen Elmhurst yet, but will get that opportunity in a couple weeks.

I've never been to their field?  Should they end up winning the regular season, is it a good place to host the tournament?

Aside from the fact that it's 3 blocks from my house,

NO.

[Viking Blue]

All of you who are enjoying this conference race and how tight it is have me to thank. 

My comments a few weeks ago about North Park's success broke every reasonable rule of baseball when it comes to thinking ahead.  If one of my high school kids talked like that, I'd have to smack them upside the head (figuratively, of course).

At any rate, looking forward to the opportunity to see the Vikings in action this weekend against Elmhurst.  Hope it turns out well!

[BigPoppa]

I think Carthage needs to win out to even have a shot at making the conference tourney. They are three games back with six left to play. A sweep of Elmhurst by NPU would help and them provided they can take all three from Millikin this weekend. The it would set up a tied in which Carthage would face Wheaton while Elmhurst faced IWU. Of all the teams in the four-team tie in the CCIW, Elmhurst has the toughest road ahead based on opponents yet to play.

[D3Vike11]

So you are saying Carthage is rooting for North Park to win?

Wait, I think I just saw a flying pig.

[BigPoppa]

So you are saying Carthage is rooting for North Park to win?

Wait, I think I just saw a flying pig.

The flying pig comes only when Carthage roots for IWU to win... and, as a true Carthaginian, I would rather miss the playoffs than cheer for the Green Weenies

[CCIWFAN6]

So you are saying Carthage is rooting for North Park to win?

Wait, I think I just saw a flying pig.

The flying pig comes only when Carthage roots for IWU to win... and, as a true Carthaginian, I would rather miss the playoffs than cheer for the Green Weenies

Had a chance to talk to several Carthage parents when IWU played up in Kenosha a couple of weeks ago, and the general consensus is they are starting to dislike NPU more than IWU.  Were some very interesting comments being made.

[Viking Blue]

So you are saying Carthage is rooting for North Park to win?

Wait, I think I just saw a flying pig.

The flying pig comes only when Carthage roots for IWU to win... and, as a true Carthaginian, I would rather miss the playoffs than cheer for the Green Weenies

Had a chance to talk to several Carthage parents when IWU played up in Kenosha a couple of weeks ago, and the general consensus is they are starting to dislike NPU more than IWU.  Were some very interesting comments being made.

Good!  Glad to hear that as a North Park fan.  You don't "hate" another team until they pose a distinct threat to you. 

[BigPoppa]

A true Carthage fan, while having no fear of another team, feels general disdain for IWU, not NPU. When I played, North Central was our biggest CCIW rival, but we did not hate them... we still hated IWU. (And you can +K or -K me based on the honesty of that statement.) Ask Augie who he cannot stand and the answer will always be IWU.

[CCIWFAN6]

A true Carthage fan, while having no fear of another team, feels general disdain for IWU, not NPU. When I played, North Central was our biggest CCIW rival, but we did not hate them... we still hated IWU. (And you can +K or -K me based on the honesty of that statement.) Ask Augie who he cannot stand and the answer will always be IWU.

I would venture to guess that it is more Coach Martel than IWU as a team, but you would know better than I. Or maybe those two things are one in the same.

[voiceofseason]

A true Carthage fan, while having no fear of another team, feels general disdain for IWU, not NPU. When I played, North Central was our biggest CCIW rival, but we did not hate them... we still hated IWU. (And you can +K or -K me based on the honesty of that statement.) Ask Augie who he cannot stand and the answer will always be IWU.

I guess I am a bad fan.  I am an IWU supporter, but I've always had a lot of respect for Carthage and what Augie has accomplished there.  I look forward to that series every year, because I always assume good baseball will be played.

[BigPoppa]

A true Carthage fan, while having no fear of another team, feels general disdain for IWU, not NPU. When I played, North Central was our biggest CCIW rival, but we did not hate them... we still hated IWU. (And you can +K or -K me based on the honesty of that statement.) Ask Augie who he cannot stand and the answer will always be IWU.

I guess I am a bad fan.  I am an IWU supporter, but I've always had a lot of respect for Carthage and what Augie has accomplished there.  I look forward to that series every year, because I always assume good baseball will be played.

I have a ton of respect for what Martel has done at IWU, I just was raised to hate IWU from the second I was handed a Carthage jersey. It is always a good series from a baseball point of view.

[voiceofseason]

A true Carthage fan, while having no fear of another team, feels general disdain for IWU, not NPU. When I played, North Central was our biggest CCIW rival, but we did not hate them... we still hated IWU. (And you can +K or -K me based on the honesty of that statement.) Ask Augie who he cannot stand and the answer will always be IWU.

I guess I am a bad fan.  I am an IWU supporter, but I've always had a lot of respect for Carthage and what Augie has accomplished there.  I look forward to that series every year, because I always assume good baseball will be played.

I have a ton of respect for what Martel has done at IWU, I just was raised to hate IWU from the second I was handed a Carthage jersey. It is always a good series from a baseball point of view.

I thought your comment about North Central was a little curious, so I just looked up your head to head against IWU during your playing days.  Clearly looks like Carthage got the better of it during that era, and three World Series also (if I read it right).  I have to give credit where credit is due - that was a pretty impressive era.  I didn't move to Bloomington until 1990, so I really wasn't too engaged in Titan sports until around 1998 - I'm sorry I missed those teams.

[CCIWFAN6]

A true Carthage fan, while having no fear of another team, feels general disdain for IWU, not NPU. When I played, North Central was our biggest CCIW rival, but we did not hate them... we still hated IWU. (And you can +K or -K me based on the honesty of that statement.) Ask Augie who he cannot stand and the answer will always be IWU.

I guess I am a bad fan.  I am an IWU supporter, but I've always had a lot of respect for Carthage and what Augie has accomplished there.  I look forward to that series every year, because I always assume good baseball will be played.

I have a ton of respect for what Martel has done at IWU, I just was raised to hate IWU from the second I was handed a Carthage jersey. It is always a good series from a baseball point of view.

I guess that is a difference between programs.  When I was at IWU, we respected Carthage, not hate them (with the exception of the"TWOOOOOOO"). We really saw them as the only team that could knock us off. There were a couple of other teams around the conference we didn't like, but none of that had anything to do with baseball.

[BigPoppa]

You are assuming that we did not respect IWU (we did), but we just really did not care for them at all.