BB: General New England Discussion

[KSCfan]

Hobbsey great job man, love the conference break down. Anyone know when the next NE poll comes out?  Anyone want to throw one out there.....

1. Keene State 8-2 Offense has been impressive but owl fans love to see the pitching going to work for them. 
2. Eastern CT 6-2 I thought Eastern was suppoused to be down this year?  Next joke, eastern looks good.
3. Bowdoin 7-2 Wins over Umass Boston, Farmingdale, looking strong so far
4. Suffolk- Looking to give St Joes a run for its money in GNAC
5. WNEC-
6. Southern Maine- Some quality wins, certainly are swinging it
7?
8?

I know its early but what am i missing.  WHo did i snub?  No one in the MASCAC looks to be out to a strong start.  Looking forward to some awesome cold march baseball this week!  Remember cold march baseball is better than no baseball

[Hobbesy]

Thanks guys!

I just added the last four conferences this morning

http://ned3baseball.wordpress.com/

As far as a poll:

1. Tufts 2-1: think the Jumbos get the top nod this early on in the season
2. Keene St 8-2: off to a great start and if pitching can keep pitching, look out
3. MIT 7-1: winners of 7 straight, including sweep of Wheaton
4. Babson 9-2: Aizenstadt and Ahern, Ahern and Aizenstadt...LEGIT
5. Eastern CT 7-2: 6-2 start is good but unsure of competition
6. Bowdoin 7-3: good start for the Polar Bears
7. WNEC 6-4: not the best start but acceptable
8. USM 5-4: They can score.  Can they pitch??

[zoneit]

I saw a lot of games in Florida last week, came away with the impression (shared by a number of players) that the new bats are somewhere between the old metal bats and wood. I haven`t figured out which it is closer to yet. I saw slugfests and pitchers shut down opponents. Bad pitching will still fare poorly. These are some other random thoughts and observations:

Pitchers will still pay for their mistakes, but pitchers that keep it out of the middle of the plate and keep walks to a minimum will benefit greatly, more so than with the old metal bats. This is because there will not be as many extra base hits or "cheap" hits off the handle or the end of the bat. A pitcher who gives up two hits in an inning but no walks is likely to get out of the inning with no runs.  Teams that work long counts, take walks, run aggressively and bunt well will have a greater advantage than before. Big innings will tend to feature walks and singles in a row although there will still be some bases clearing bombs.

Infield play will improve because ground balls are definitely not attacking the infielders with the same speed as before. However, middle infielders will need to learn to charge the ball better, I think they are used to backing up on hard hit balls and getting the second hop rather than charging for the first hop or short hop. Many extra base hits from last year are now line drives or fly balls to the outfield. The game will be "better", but I would still much prefer wood.

[Ralph Turner]

Welcome to the boards, Zoneit!
Thanks for the comments.

+1! 

[Stump]

Zoneit,
Good comments.  Those are the impressions I am getting from reading box scores and game summaries. (stuck here in NE with the winter that won't go away)  Especially like the observation that infield play should be better.  I see it wood bat summer leagues, middle infielders(especially shortstops) don't know how to charge the ball because they have always played against metal bats. 

Thanks for the input.  Looking forward to seeing some ball soon.

[Hobbesy]

Spent the afternoon at MIT watching MIT-Babson DH.

Some great baseball was played with MIT sweeping the Beavers.

My thoughts and some postgame interviews are up!

http://ned3baseball.wordpress.com/

[Hobbesy]

First NEIBA poll released

http://nutmeg.easternct.edu/mt-static/athletics/NEIBA%20Polls%202011%20-%20March%2028%20-%20Week%201.pdf

Eastern CT
MIT
Keene
Babson
Williams
WNEC
Bowdoin
USM

[KSCfan]

I think that poll is pretty right on in my opinion.  I dont know if i would of put Eastern first, but at this point in the season it doesnt really matter.  It means more to us bloggers than it does to the teams at this point.  When was the last time you didnt see Wheaton on the list?  Husson getting some votes was good as well.

Couple of games this week among top teams

Keene and WNEC on thursday
Babson and Wheaton on Friday
MIT and WPI today

[ECSUalum]

I think that poll is pretty right on in my opinion.  I dont know if i would of put Eastern first, but at this point in the season it doesnt really matter.  It means more to us bloggers than it does to the teams at this point.  When was the last time you didnt see Wheaton on the list?  Husson getting some votes was good as well.

Couple of games this week among top teams

Keene and WNEC on thursday
Babson and Wheaton on Friday
MIT and WPI today

If Eastern was 12-3 vs teams like Cortland St, JHU, Kean, Salisbury etc etc, , ECSU's first place showing would be justified.
But they have played a relatively weak first 15 game schedule, so I may have to agree with KSCFan

Does SOS get taken into consideration on these polls?

However, polls are just that, and as I have stated in the past, it is the end result that counts!!!

[ECSUalum]

HobbesyBaby's Channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/HobbesyBaby

[Hobbesy]

Hey guys,

Sorry about the intermittent posts.  Its been a busy week for me.  Here's my latest conference call with a look around the region.

Lot of excitement and a lot of good games going on!!

This weekend should be a very exciting one!

http://ned3baseball.wordpress.com/

[wordsmith]

Western New England's DiTommaso Garners National Pitcher of the Week Award

http://www.thecommonwealthcoastconference.com/news/2011/4/9/BB_0409113222.aspx


Word

[LEC Fan]

ESPN's John Brenkus has a pretty good video from Sport Science about the new NCAA bats...check it out..

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6355789&categoryid=2378529

[Hobbesy]

Guys,

Found a great tool that is really fun to play around with and look through.  

http://web1.ncaa.org/stats/StatsSrv/ranksummary?sportCode=MBA


Click on the division 3 tab and then select the most recent date. Using the tabs at the top you can choose what teams you look at stat-wise.  The one I found most interesting was the one where you can select the entire New England region and see where all the teams stack up compared to each other and the rest of the nation.

This should spur some interesting discussions like the fact that Mitchell's John Apostolo is having a MONSTER year!

I should have a new Conference Call up by the end of the day as well

[ECSUalum]

Guys,

Found a great tool that is really fun to play around with and look through.  

http://web1.ncaa.org/stats/StatsSrv/ranksummary?sportCode=MBA


Click on the division 3 tab and then select the most recent date. Using the tabs at the top you can choose what teams you look at stat-wise.  The one I found most interesting was the one where you can select the entire New England region and see where all the teams stack up compared to each other and the rest of the nation.

This should spur some interesting discussions like the fact that Mitchell's John Apostolo is having a MONSTER year!

I should have a new Conference Call up by the end of the day as well

Hobbesy,

Been to this site quite a bit but I guess I did'nt realize you could do the Conference, and Regional comparisons!!  cool.