BB: SUNYAC

[Bob Maxwell]

Thanks NY... was just curious about him.  I knew he finished his baseball last year... good for him for getting to play his last season of basketball.

As for Cooperstown.... Even with all the issues with holding hte tournament there, I still think it would be a great thing for the SUNYAC to tie their conference tournament in with the baseball HOF.  Even if there weren't issues to deal with in order to hold it on Doubleday field it looks like it may be moot if the conference really does elimiante the tournament.

Any thoughs on the merits of eliminating the tournament?

Pretty good super bowl last night...

[sunyacguru]

What about having the tourney in the Albany/troy area. Joe Bruno Stadium is unbelievable. Then you have bleeker near by and many many other nice parks from what i remember from the area.

I like the cooperstown idea although i do agree with many of you that it would be a difficult funding task as well as it possibly becoming irritating to teams that they can't do certain things there because of their strictness. Dont think you can even have seeds in the dugout there.

[NYBaseball]

It's really not going to matter, because unless there is a major change in plans.....this will be the last yr of the conference tourney.  All these are great ideas, but were just wasting our time discussing possible venues.

[Bob Maxwell]

I don't like the idea of elimianting the tournament... I do like the going to 3 games agasint each team but not eliminating the tournament.

Anyone have any comments on that happening?  We can't change it but just wondering what your thoughts are on it...

[sunyacguru]

i think the tournament should be kept. Its a great way to showcase the talent of the SUNYAC one of the best divisions in DIII baseball

[JQV]

i think the tournament should be kept. Its a great way to showcase the talent of the SUNYAC one of the best divisions in DIII baseball

Isn't it also just a great way to add innings to arms right before the real tournament?

[dgilblair]

i think the tournament should be kept. Its a great way to showcase the talent of the SUNYAC one of the best divisions in DIII baseball

Isn't it also just a great way to add innings to arms right before the real tournament?

I agree. Besides didn't you just play a season long tournament?  You won your conference now it's time for the regionals.  At least in New England.  It's hard as heck to get the 40 games in Willimantic never mind being in Upstate NY.  I just think that playing the weekend before regionals and then if you happen to move on having to do it all again.  Thats winning 3 tournaments in consecutive weeks. Thats real had to do.  Now if you play in the warm weather you narrow that do to 2 consecutive.  I know most teams don't need to win the conference  one but tell what team out there isn't trying to win it?  I think in the long run it helps the teams in your conference.

[banalyst]

So will be the impact players for next year for crtland when they lose thos eniors? My bet would be the transfers he brought in they will get there share next year....they all have alot of talent. Coach Brown has 2 .400 hitters that being adam dimino and nick palmiero who will probobly play secong nxt year after russo leaves and a great pick up mike avery from brockport who will be in center.....Cortland should be fine this year and years to come......!

[pudge27]

I think that we might be overplaying the impact on arms that the conference tournament might have.  Pitching depth is important to long term success in regionals and beyond.  If you're a team that's going well and is most likely going to qualify for regionals, do you really want a week off before the biggest games of the year?  I think that if they do away with the conference tourney, the team with the automatic bid is going to schedule games to keep fresh and a team on the bubble is going to want to be playing to try and get some more wins and get themselves over the hump.  I also think that the tournament bid gives more teams a shot to qualify.  The way things stand now, I've got to think that a team has a better shot of catching a wave and beating Cortland in a short tournament than they would have over the course of a season.  Any thoughts on that???

[JQV]

If you're a team that's going well and is most likely going to qualify for regionals, do you really want a week off before the biggest games of the year?  I think that if they do away with the conference tourney, the team with the automatic bid is going to schedule games to keep fresh and a team on the bubble is going to want to be playing to try and get some more wins and get themselves over the hump.

This is a solid point about rust.  But I think the difference between a tournament format and adding games to the schedule, as you suggest, is predictability.  If you know the dates you are going to play that week, you can set your rotation and bullpen accordingly so that you cruise into Regionals with a pitching plan.  You can also build yourself in a few days of rest between games if you schedule them which is not automatically available in a tournament format.  Obviously, tournament games and the frequency of tournament games are unpredictable so a team could end up out of order or working on short rest for Regionals.

[Ralph Turner]

I don't like the idea of elimianting the tournament... I do like the going to 3 games agasint each team but not eliminating the tournament.

Anyone have any comments on that happening?  We can't change it but just wondering what your thoughts are on it...

In the South and West, the use of the tournament allows teams to continue playing games.  The SCAC and the ASC have two-weekend tournaments that determine the AQ, i.e., intra-division tourney on weekend #1 (East and West, #4 v. #1 and #3 v #2).  The four winners then play the next weekend.

The downside to this is whether you knock one of your teams out of Pool C consideration by inflicting more losses, after the Regular Season champ wins the tourney as well.

I imagine college baseball like a cycling (velodrome) sprint.  Some teams start warming up in February and almost exhaust themselves by the start of the tourney in mid-May.  The northern teams start in mid March (up to 6 weeks later) and are hitting full speed in under 8 weeks. 

[dgilblair]

If you're a team that's going well and is most likely going to qualify for regionals, do you really want a week off before the biggest games of the year?  I think that if they do away with the conference tourney, the team with the automatic bid is going to schedule games to keep fresh and a team on the bubble is going to want to be playing to try and get some more wins and get themselves over the hump.

This is a solid point about rust.  But I think the difference between a tournament format and adding games to the schedule, as you suggest, is predictability.  If you know the dates you are going to play that week, you can set your rotation and bullpen accordingly so that you cruise into Regionals with a pitching plan.  You can also build yourself in a few days of rest between games if you schedule them which is not automatically available in a tournament format.  Obviously, tournament games and the frequency of tournament games are unpredictable so a team could end up out of order or working on short rest for Regionals.

Exactly....If the conference tournament is two weeks before the regionals your rotation can be set up just the way you want it.  Like you said, you can schedule games as you like the week prior to the regionals.  I don't know how had it would be to schedule those games though.

[pudge27]

I've got to think that it wouldn't be too difficult to schedule games late in the season.  I looked at Cortland's schedule and they've got a game scheduled with Hamilton between Sunyac's and Regionals.  (they may be better off with an intrasquad, but that's another post altogether).  Throw in the fact that most NY teams are trying to shoehorn 40 games into what seems to amount to a 3-4 week period, there should also be plenty opportunity for reschedules.  I guess my bottom line is that I'd like to see SUNY keep the tourney, but the teams that want to play are going to be getting after it, tourney or not. 

[scuba16]

The SUNYAC baseball tournament is awesome and it is a great place to set your pitching up for the regional, get some double elim tournament experience or win your way into the regional by beating the #1 seed and getting the automatic bid. What is the reasoning behind the push to eliminate the SUNYAC baseball tournament?

[Bob Maxwell]

Some very interesting reading here since I've last been on.  Thanks!

A couple commnets about what has been said.

Ralph hit a very interesting point about conference tournaments in his post when he said

The downside to this is whether you knock one of your teams out of Pool C consideration by inflicting more losses, after the Regular Season champ wins the tourney as well.

With one team in the conference being as prominent in the national picture, like Cortland has been in the past few years, the other teams in the tournament don't get their fair recognition... and unless one of them wins the AQ by taking the tournament, the two losses (albeit to very good teams...) may be a negative when being looked at for an at large bid.  I think it happened to Brockport last year...

Also, about the scheduling of games after the conference tournament to prevent a 2 week layoff.  That would have to be done before the season starts because of rules regarding length of season...  You won't be able to just pick up games even if you aren't at the 40 game limit as teams will/may not have time in their declared season to play.  And playing games the week after the present tournament weekend may not be easy as it is exam week and the next weekend is commencement.

I like the schedule model with the post season conference tournament, just because it is a conclusion of the conference season when teams come together to compete for a champioinship.  Also, it extends the season and gives teams that participate in the tournament games (beyond the 40 limit) and more time on the field... this is important in the northeast becuase they teams don't get out on the field until they return home from their spring trips... so it is a short season to begin with.

Consider this... any team that goes to the NCAA gets at least one (and in the SUNYCA case two) additional weeks of practices... go to the WS and you get anohter week.

Th