BB: General New England Discussion

[TheGNAC]

The regional ranking may hold importance when determining an at large, but I get the sense that they do not hold as much water when ranking the teams within the regional.  I am pretty sure Williams was 4th or 5th in NE going into the regional last year, but were given the 3 seed.  That is why I am slightly skeptical of regional rankings.  Do you have any knowledge of similar situations?

Williams was ranked 3rd in New England in the 3rd and final regional rankiing in 2007.

http://www.d3sports.com/dailydose/2007/05/10/ncaa-regional-rankings-third-release/

The regional rankings are the most important aspect of the process. These rankings are the ones submitted to the NCAA National Selection Committee. They list the at-large teams, and right now Suffolk, Southern Maine, and Amherst are ahead of Williams. In order for that to change, I really think Williams with have to knock off Trinity and/or win the NESCAC in order for them to move ahead of the teams in front of them.

[Ralph Turner]

The regional ranking may hold importance when determining an at large, but I get the sense that they do not hold as much water when ranking the teams within the regional.  I am pretty sure Williams was 4th or 5th in NE going into the regional last year, but were given the 3 seed.  That is why I am slightly skeptical of regional rankings.  Do you have any knowledge of similar situations?

We do not see the final regional ranking that occurs after all of the teams in the region are finished and before the Selection committee begins its deliberations.

[TheGNAC]

An interesting situation is brewing in Keene tomorrow.

Here is the question I pose to you D3'ers;

Tomorrow, Southern Maine will take on Keene State for the LEC title, and the automatic bid that accompanies it. What happens if Keene beats USM twice to take the conference? That would give KSC the automatic bid, and leave a lot of questions for the committee regarding the 2nd at-large bid.

By losing twice, does Southern Maine hurt it's chances for a Pool C? I say no, as knocking off Econn and KSC tin a span of two days IMO guarantees them the first at-large bid in the region.

That leaves Eastern, Suffolk, and Amherst battling for that last at-large bid. How will the committee view Suffolk's dropping two to GNAC champ St. Joe's? Will they drop Conn for going 1-2 in the LEC tournament? What happens if Amherst knocks off Trinity but then loses in the NESCAC tournament?

The next few days are shaping up to be pretty interesting for New England.

[ecfaninri]

Your're right GNAC .. interesting happenings in Keene. Econn went 2-2 in the LEC tourney. How the committee looks at this is anyone's guess.

[TheGNAC]

Your're right GNAC .. interesting happenings in Keene. Econn went 2-2 in the LEC tourney. How the committee looks at this is anyone's guess.

My fault, you're right. Still, I think most people expected TEE to at least reach the championship game. Should be a very interesting day on Sunday.

[Bostonian]

NESCAC teams really screw themselves for atlarge bids because of their scheduling limitations. Not being able to play the full 40 games really makes their resumes look a lot weaker.

Williams has the inside track to overtake Amherst. They could definitely face each other, and that could be the X factor. I give Williams the inside track because facing Tufts seems alot easier than facing Kiely and Trinity.

The weather is really going to hurt whatever NESCAC team(s) end up in the NCAAs. On Wednesday, NESCAC teams will have a pitcher going on 3 days rest. While Kiely is EXTREMELY impressive, I don't think he's ever done that before.

[ecfaninri]

Bostonian
Weather in NE - gotta love it! That's the price you pay when tourneys are scheduled so close to regionals,finals and graduations. A lot of things can happen. Teams like Wheaton and Worcester have pitchers rsted and waiting while Keene and USM have to play 1 or 2 for the LEC title - weather permitting and NESMAC goes to Sunday. Trinity really doesn't need to use Kiely this weekend unless it is really important to stay undefeated.

[kscer]

Bostonian
Weather in NE - gotta love it! That's the price you pay when tourneys are scheduled so close to regionals,finals and graduations. A lot of things can happen. Teams like Wheaton and Worcester have pitchers rsted and waiting while Keene and USM have to play 1 or 2 for the LEC title - weather permitting and NESMAC goes to Sunday. Trinity really doesn't need to use Kiely this weekend unless it is really important to stay undefeated.

Good point. We always assume a team will use their ace in a tournament. What's the value of remaining undefeated vs. winning the first game in the regionals?

[dgilblair]

I think at this point for Trinity they have to start thier ace if they plan on using him at all in this tourney.  That will give at least three days rest for the regionals.  If they jump out to a lead they can limit his pitches and work the pen a little.  I don't think Kiely will not be over worked in this touney. Do you think the seeding for regional is important?  Being the #1 or #2 seed,  not sure it's that important.

[frank uible]

The rule of thumb is " always use your ace if he is ready". Al Lopez had an object lesson story to support that rule, in which for apparent good reason he had withheld a ready Herb Score, and the action proved that Lopez had outsmarted himself. If you don't recognize Lopez' and Score's names, that means you are not extremely old and don't know baseball history very well. If someone pleads, I will reiterate the story here.

[Nuke LaLoosh]

Tough day for Williams.

Amherst beat Williams 9-8 in extras in the losers bracket game, after Williams was up 8-4 heading to 8th.

Amherst plays Tufts tomorrow morning, with winner having to beat Trinity twice afterwards.

Trinity used Bayer in game 2, and he went 7 innings not allowing a run. Trinity has either Barnard or Regan to throw in championship game, while Amherst and Tufts will be pretty thin after their third games. Looks as if Trinity will be 37-0 heading to regionals.

[dgilblair]

The rule of thumb is " always use your ace if he is ready". Al Lopez had an object lesson story to support that rule, in which for apparent good reason he had withheld a ready Herb Score, and the action proved that Lopez had outsmarted himself. If you don't recognize Lopez' and Score's names, that means you are not extremely old and don't know baseball history very well. If someone pleads, I will reiterate the story here.

I've heard of both but I'm not sure I heard the story.......plead, plead, plead.  Love baseball stories

[TheGNAC]

Anybody care to speculate on the Pool C situation in New England? Southern Maine lost both of their games today to fall to 27-12 in-region, good for a .692 winning percentage. Compare that with Suffolk, who finished at 26-11 in-region, for a .703 winning percentage. Suffolk beat USM twice head-to-head, so this makes me think the committee will have a tough time justifying USM being ranked ahead of Suffolk on Sunday.

Then of course there is theE case of Eastern Connecticut.  EConn got bounced early in the LEC tourney, but they have been ranked high all year long, and I think even though they failed to make the LEC final, they should have an at-large bid locked up. I think they're the front-runner for the first Pool C bid from New England.

Which brings us to Amherst. Amherst lost 9-1 today to Trinity, and that's not a real big surprise. They then beat Williams, setting up tomorrow's game with Tufts. If they can get by the Jumbos, they will then need to beat Trinity twice to win the NESCAC. Suffice it to say this isn't likely to happen, but what if Amherst is able to win a game over the #1 team in the region? Do they jump ahead of USM and Suffolk for that second Pool C bid? Honestly, I have no idea.

Of course, there is also the possibility the committee will simply award just one Pool C bid to New England. I don't know the last time this happened, but I know in the last three years both the NESCAC and LEC have been awarded at-large bids. Essentially, the committee has a lot of decisions to make tomorrow, and there will be a lot of upset folks in New England no matter what they decide.

Also, I'm sure there's a lot of happy people in the EConn and Suffolk camps today.

[dgilblair]

Honestly, I thought the 14-3 thumpimg of ECSU and the 8-4 win over KSU locked a bid for the Huskies.  Don't know if the two lopsided losses to Keene will take away from that or not.  I was glad to see KSU win the LEC and the automatic bid because now they don't need a Pool C, which they for sure would have gotten.  I think USM is setting pretty good for a Pool C if the committee doesn't frown on the two lopsided losses to KSU.  Then ECSU would be the next logical pick.  Regional losses have been to nothing but quality teams and for the most part NCAA potential regional teams.  With wins over teams, like Wheaton, Keene, Suffolk, USM. 
It is going to be a tough job for the committee but I think New England will get two Pool C's and I think it will be USM and ECSU.  Unless someone beats Trinity for the A bid.

[frank uible]

DGil: The year is 1956 - the team is the Cleveland Indians. Al Lopez was the manager of the Indians from 1951 through 1956. Each of those years the Indians finished second in the AL except for 1954 when they won the pennant - some reputable commentatators considered the Indians of that period as the second best team in all of MLB behind you know whom. In 1955 Herb Score was a LHP for the Indians and the AL rookie of the year. He had a terrific fast ball and in 1956 was regarded by the consensus of authorities as the best LHP in the majors - mostly due the velocity of his number one. The other starting pitchers for the Indians that year were Bob Lemon, Early Wynn and Mike Garcia - all then aging greats (Lemon and Wynn being in Cooperstown now) - but Score was clearly the Indians ace and almost unhittable when he was right. The Indians faced a Sunday doubleheader at home (I don't remember against whom) - and Score was ready to pitch. Cleveland Municipal Stadium, the Indians home park, was situated during the baseball season so that the expanse between home plate and the mound was entirely in the sun early in the afternoon but was partly in the shade and partly in the sun in the late afternnon. Lopez wanted Score to have the advantage of throwing his fast ball from the sun into the shade and so held Score out from the first game in order to pitch him in  the second game of the doubleheader (again I don't remember whom Lopez pitched in the first game). The result was the Indians lost the first game, and the second game was a rain-out. I'll let you discover what happened to Score so that his name is barely remembered today.