BB: USAC: USA South Athletic Conference

[LTBB1971]

NCWC could not get it together all year...as I was hoping.  Few bright spots this year were Senior SS Justin Rahm (.319-2-23, 12 doubles), Sophmore C Tyler Clark (.351-1-18, 3 triples), Senior 1B Zach Alexander (.331-2-27, 13 doubles), Freshman 3B Jose Parra (.295-0-17, 10 BB), Freshman OF Hayden Williams (.440).  On the pitcher's side Freshman CL Ben Longton (14 G, 4.05 ERA, 20 Inn, 24 K) had a pretty good year and was the most consistent pitcher for that staff.

[Catfishncwc]

Keaton Neeb is like a cat behind the dish, I just witnessed an amazing play on a wild pitch BUT he still threw out CNU's runner.

He's a stud and hands down the best catcher in the USA-South.

Thanks to VMI for telling him that he was not in their immediate plans that allowed him to transfer at mid-term last year.

But lets also say that VMI had two pretty catchers who are seniors this year and the starting catcher is one of the better catchers in the Mid Atlantic so it was not like VMI had scrubs they were playing a head of Neeb both of them are very good catchers. 

[ericchurch]

Hands down the best catcher?? First off, I think Such proved he deserved first team with the performance he put on at the tournament. Neeb went 3-17 in the tournament, and the two times he batted in the 2-hole he was 0-8. I think Lenda also proved he is better than Neeb defensively, throwing out Brashears by a mile in the championship game. So saying Neeb is "hands down" the best catcher in the conference is an idiotic biased comment.

[Will2Win]

Hands down the best catcher?? First off, I think Such proved he deserved first team with the performance he put on at the tournament. Neeb went 3-17 in the tournament, and the two times he batted in the 2-hole he was 0-8. I think Lenda also proved he is better than Neeb defensively, throwing out Brashears by a mile in the championship game. So saying Neeb is "hands down" the best catcher in the conference is an idiotic biased comment.

You're not always going to be successful in this game...3-17 happens quite often, give the kid a break...it's just unfortunate it happened to be during the conference tourney when it can be magnified the most. Give the kid his dues though. If he wasn't good enough to be first team then the coaches wouldn't have voted him in, he had to have been doing something right...he ranks right up there with Such and Lenda and HE IS just about the best all around catcher in the conference.

He can hit for Average, has some pop, above average defensively, can swipe a bag if you need him to, and he has a plus arm behind the dish. He impacts every aspect of the game...although Such and Lenda are very good and may be better in some areas of the game....i'm not sure either of the two can do all of the above as exceptionally well as Neeb does.

(With that being said, let me remind you that we shouldn't forget he's an entire year of college baseball behind Such and two years behind Lenda, in terms of seeing live college pitching and in game situations....he's only a sophomore...i'm sure he'll be just fine when all is said and done). So, stop knocking the kid...it's not like we're coming on here saying he's the next Mauer or Posey.

and just a little FYI...that was a botched Hit and Run...not just a straight steal my friend.

[PNeal7]

Speaking of Joe Maurer, I wish he'd come off the DL so he can help out my fantasy baseball team.

Bossman - I think we definetly all agree with your comments. Neeb is certainly an above average catcher, and one of the better catchers around. I think the issue is with that D-Bat stated when he claimed "hands down the best catcher in the USAS." I think we all agree that despite he is very good, he isn't "hands down" the best; there are 2 other very good catchers in the conference.

[Will2Win]

Speaking of Joe Maurer, I wish he'd come off the DL so he can help out my fantasy baseball team.

Bossman - I think we definetly all agree with your comments. Neeb is certainly an above average catcher, and one of the better catchers around. I think the issue is with that D-Bat stated when he claimed "hands down the best catcher in the USAS." I think we all agree that despite he is very good, he isn't "hands down" the best; there are 2 other very good catchers in the conference.

Haha, Yeah i hear you on the Mauer situation.

Understandable...just seemed like that other guy "ericchurch" was knocking him pretty hard because he didnt play well in Burlington. If that's the case, you might as well say everyone in SU's lineup isn't worth a darn because none of them really showed up down there this weekend. Seemed like they got on the busses and left the intensity and bats needed to compete for a championship back in Winchester. His post was based solely on this past weekend's performances it seemed, if he was going to make an argument I just felt like he should have made sure he took the entire body of work into consideration. Oh well though, i'm sure ericchurch will have SU falling out of this week's top 25 after this past weekend's performances too, based on what i've seen from him so far...haha. 

[Boysofsummer21]

Well I think that if you need a catcher any of the 3 mentioned would not be a bad choice and I would take any of them.

As for the rankings I would think that CNU and SU may change places or be 2 and 3 or maybe 3 and 4.

[PNeal7]

Agreed. All 3 are above average.

I would think you are ranked #4, and beat the #1 team twice, you jump to #1. I could see CNU at #1, and then SU at #3. Then again, I am not sure what the other top teams did this past week.

[Will2Win]

Very true PNeal...

Pojected Top 5...

1-CNU
2-Marietta
3-Kean/SU
4-SU/Kean
5-Heidleberg

[BMoore#4]

NCWC could not get it together all year...as I was hoping.  Few bright spots this year were Senior SS Justin Rahm (.319-2-23, 12 doubles), Sophmore C Tyler Clark (.351-1-18, 3 triples), Senior 1B Zach Alexander (.331-2-27, 13 doubles), Freshman 3B Jose Parra (.295-0-17, 10 BB), Freshman OF Hayden Williams (.440).  On the pitcher's side Freshman CL Ben Longton (14 G, 4.05 ERA, 20 Inn, 24 K) had a pretty good year and was the most consistent pitcher for that staff.

LTHS   maybe your boy his senior year can have a better year.  Sucks to work that hard all fall and have a season like that. There are some good bright spots in that quote you had... but sad thing is those two seniors leave.  Rahm  has grown up a lot since i was there and I was lucky to have had two years with him and alexander also... they both were  very huge in my senior year in having a good year. I'm sure they will be missed.   Said thing is that NCWC has used its history as a key recruiting tool.   History is showing a downward turn FAST! 2 sub 500 seasons is not a very good thing to look at while SHAN and CNU are ranked top 25 Having CNU and SHAN in the conf is a good recruit too though.  Just sucks to get on the computer and see how bad the guys are doing.  Maybe we can finally learn some things about the last few years. COACHING wise.   DONT LEAVE YOUR PITCHERS IN TO LONG!  i mean i know its his last name but holly crap.  and the years that NCWC was so good and had its runs was when D, fielding, and pitching were the most concentrated on.  MY last 3 years there we would take in and out and then just jog down to the bully and do a few sit ups and sprints. yes that can help but maybe some drills or mechanics or even video work could help.  And having an ex umpire as a pitching coach does not help. The mental side of the game is important as well.  What pitches to throw when.. to what batter.. who to look after each game.. who steals... WE NEVER or NCWC never talks about this.  Talent wise I sucked as a baseball player.. I mean I was bad... but on the what to throw when and to what batter in a situation I was very goot at.   And ALLOW your players to get into a game.. They are 19-23 year old men. WE CUSE. WE GET EXCITED, WE HAVE FUN. So let us be college kids.  Its not theuniversity of BIBLE BELT. Its North Carolina Wesleyan   Example the game at Shan this year.  If a kid hit a homerun off me or any of my teammates and when he touched home plate he screamed to my dug out and flexed saying get ready boys its coming all day long. NEXT BATTER or the next time that kid came up. YOU BET YOUR MONEY he wouldn't say it again.  .  Its sad when players I played with talk to me and tell me that they are scared to do something and get INTENSE at a game because of what someone might say or there playing time will be shot.  I hope and pray that the class coming in next year can mesh well with the good players NCWC has returning so maybe in 2 years NCWC can be where it belongs in the top 3 in the conf usas.  But its not going to happen until some coaching strategy changes.. because the talent is there and has been for years. 

LTHS let me know what you think or people like Pneal that I played against and can relate to the difference between the ncwc old and new. Because the talent isn't much different its something else. Narch you can relate also.

[narch]

(With that being said, let me remind you that we shouldn't forget he's an entire year of college baseball behind Such and two years behind Lenda, in terms of seeing live college pitching and in game situations....he's only a sophomore...i'm sure he'll be just fine when all is said and done).

for what its worth, these are such's numbers as a freshman and sophomore
2009: .372, 7 hr, 39 rbi
2010: .393, 13 hr, 54 rbi
being young doesn't always mean you can't be good

and not to beat a dead horse (something i'm usually pretty good at doing), but here are the defensive stats for each of the catchers in question:
lenda: 15 cs, 24 sba (38.5% caught stealing), 6 passed balls, .982 fielding percentage
such: 18 cs, 24 sba (42.8% caught stealing), 3 passed balls, .984 fielding percentage
neeb: 10 cs, 9 sba (52.6% caught stealing), 8 passed balls, .988 fielding percentage

yes, neeb leads such by almost 10% and lenda by almost 15% in caught stealing %, but i think that stat may be a bit misleading...85% or more of the stolen bases are of 2nd, and i'd be willing to bet that fewer than 50% of the runners who steal a base score – given that the league averages around 1.7 stolen base attempts per game and assuming that less than ½ of those stolen bases lead directly to runs, the run-prevention difference between neeb and such is less than .1 runs/game – when you factor in the passed balls differential, the defensive statistics between neeb and such probably come pretty close to being even...you can hardly make a statistical case for neeb as the "best catcher...hands down" – i haven't observed him close enough to see how he handles the pitching staff and controls the game, but those are areas in which i think such is greatly improved...to the point that i would take his ability to produce instant offense vs. his perceived defensive deficiencies 8 days a week

[Will2Win]

(With that being said, let me remind you that we shouldn't forget he's an entire year of college baseball behind Such and two years behind Lenda, in terms of seeing live college pitching and in game situations....he's only a sophomore...i'm sure he'll be just fine when all is said and done).

for what its worth, these are such's numbers as a freshman and sophomore
2009: .372, 7 hr, 39 rbi
2010: .393, 13 hr, 54 rbi
being young doesn't always mean you can't be good

and not to beat a dead horse (something i'm usually pretty good at doing), but here are the defensive stats for each of the catchers in question:
lenda: 15 cs, 24 sba (38.5% caught stealing), 6 passed balls, .982 fielding percentage
such: 18 cs, 24 sba (42.8% caught stealing), 3 passed balls, .984 fielding percentage
neeb: 10 cs, 9 sba (52.6% caught stealing), 8 passed balls, .988 fielding percentage

yes, neeb leads such by almost 10% and lenda by almost 15% in caught stealing %, but i think that stat may be a bit misleading...85% or more of the stolen bases are of 2nd, and i'd be willing to bet that fewer than 50% of the runners who steal a base score – given that the league averages around 1.7 stolen base attempts per game and assuming that less than ½ of those stolen bases lead directly to runs, the run-prevention difference between neeb and such is less than .1 runs/game – when you factor in the passed balls differentia, the defensive statistics between neeb and such probably come pretty close to being even...you can hardly make a statistical case for neeb as the "best catcher...hands down" – i haven't observed him close enough to see how he handles the pitching staff and controls the game, but those are areas in which i think such is greatly improved...to the point that i would take his ability to produce instant offense vs. his perceived defensive deficiencies 8 days a week

Guess that's why we're all allowed to have our opinions Narch   

[CNU85]

Agreed. All 3 are above average.

I would think you are ranked #4, and beat the #1 team twice, you jump to #1. I could see CNU at #1, and then SU at #3. Then again, I am not sure what the other top teams did this past week.

Didn't CNU beat SU 3 times this year when they were ranked #1?  How many times do you have to do that before being ranked #1?

[SUball]

Agreed. All 3 are above average.

I would think you are ranked #4, and beat the #1 team twice, you jump to #1. I could see CNU at #1, and then SU at #3. Then again, I am not sure what the other top teams did this past week.

Didn't CNU beat SU 3 times this year when they were ranked #1?  How many times do you have to do that before being ranked #1?

Yes, they have but before this week they split the series during the season.  So, its not like CNU been getting snubbed by the polls.  CNU will definately jump over SU and probably get the number 1 spot when the rankings come out tomorrow.

[forheavendial4999]

(With that being said, let me remind you that we shouldn't forget he's an entire year of college baseball behind Such and two years behind Lenda, in terms of seeing live college pitching and in game situations....he's only a sophomore...i'm sure he'll be just fine when all is said and done).

for what its worth, these are such's numbers as a freshman and sophomore
2009: .372, 7 hr, 39 rbi
2010: .393, 13 hr, 54 rbi
being young doesn't always mean you can't be good

and not to beat a dead horse (something i'm usually pretty good at doing), but here are the defensive stats for each of the catchers in question:
lenda: 15 cs, 24 sba (38.5% caught stealing), 6 passed balls, .982 fielding percentage
such: 18 cs, 24 sba (42.8% caught stealing), 3 passed balls, .984 fielding percentage
neeb: 10 cs, 9 sba (52.6% caught stealing), 8 passed balls, .988 fielding percentage

Numbers-wise, Lenda doesn't compare to the other two.

8 passed balls is quite a few for a D-III season IMO.

For comparison's sake, this was last year's ABCA first-team A-A, Heidelberg's Steve Decker.

.389 BA, 5HR, 52 RBI, 22 CS-44SB (50% rate), 4 pickoffs, 4 PB, .990 fpct. for a conference and regional championship team.

Neeb is .345, 6 HR, 28 RBI, 1 pickoff, 8 PB, .988
Such is .328, 12 HR, 36 RBI, 3 pickoff, 3 PB, .988